


Two Dimensions, One Couple

by bread_the_undead



Category: Onward (2020)
Genre: Escapism, F/M, Fluff, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Female Character - Freeform, Panic Attacks, Post-Onward (2020), Romance, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, barley lightfoot - Freeform, don't know how to tag, escapist nonsense to occupy my brain in the covid times, literally my first fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:08:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 95,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28172196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bread_the_undead/pseuds/bread_the_undead
Summary: Several months after the events of Onward.Barley is enthusiastically searching for assist elements and spells to try out with Ian, but one new spell he finds leads to unintended consequences.
Relationships: Barley Lightfoot/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is shameless self insert trash. I am not sorry. 
> 
> This fic is primarily Barley heavy, not too much of Ian.
> 
> I've written quite a bit of this fic and I would like to finish it. 
> 
> Eventually it will get horny, I'll put warnings in the summary when it happens.
> 
> Here's some head canons and weird world-building elements that aren't readily apparent in the story but are there in the back of my mind when I'm writing.
> 
> \- Barley is bisexual. 
> 
> \- Ian enjoys doing magic with his brother and sees it as a fun activity but not like a life’s calling. He plans to go to school for… Let’s say engineering. 
> 
> \- Barley is a LARPer. That is completely canon in my opinion.
> 
> \- Barley would also 100% paint miniatures.
> 
> \- The Onward universe will be a separate dimension from this one. Humans don’t exist in Onward, just because that makes this more interesting for me.
> 
> \- Because it would make my brain happy, Onwardverse has a socialist capitalist system. Meaning capitalism is highly regulated and social programs like free healthcare and free education are the norm. Minimum wage is a living wage and people don’t have to take multiple jobs to just survive. People can live comfortably from one salary and even take care of family who can’t work. There’s a good social safety net for those with disabilities. (It fucking sucks that this is a fantasy of mine)
> 
> \- The above let's Barley have the freedom to fuck around, not having to get serious for a while if Laurel doesn’t have to worry about paying for college or all the medical bills he would accrue. She wants to see him apply himself to something other than Quests of Yore, because of societal expectations and she really really wants him out of the house. 
> 
> \- Imperialism, colonialism, and systematic racism don’t exist in Onwardverse. Homophobia and transphobia also don’t exist. (This is just turning into the ultimate fantasy where systematic oppression isn’t real but magic is)
> 
> \- Guns don’t exist in Onward, fuck’em. They got swords and magic babeeeey.
> 
> \- This is ultra specific and weird but since Onward is based heavily off of European fantasy, the food will reflect that. Food that isn't within the scope of European culture doesn't exist in Onward. I don't know why I like this detail.

  
“Ian! PREPARE TO BE AMAZED!”

Ian Lightfoot’s bedroom door smashed open as his older brother Barley barreled in, looking as manic as ever.

“Barley, I’m doing my homework, can it wait?” Ian wasn’t as perturbed by his brother’s antics as he would have been three months ago, but he still needed to get his class work done. 

“NAY! For I have procured a most wondrous spell!” Barley slapped a piece of parchment down on Ian’s desk and eagerly waited for his brother to read it. 

Ian sighed, but was secretly grateful for the impromptu study break. He picked up the parchment and read through it. “It’s a… dimensional portal? But it only lasts 10 seconds? What’s the point of this?”

“The point, Ian, is that other dimensions _exi_ s _t_ and we can see them! How fuckin’ cool is that!” 

“Requires all magical degrees as well as an assist element… an enchanted gem of some kind at least… No dimension can be accessed more than once… spell lasts ten seconds… Huh.” Ian scanned over the spell with mild interest. It could be kinda cool to see into another dimension. But ten seconds? That didn’t seem worth it, especially if the spell required an assist element for each casting. “I don’t exactly have enchanted gems lying around, Barley.”

“No, but the Manticore does!”

“Barley, I have a paper due tomorrow, I can’t go on a quest right now.”

“No need, dear brother, for I have already obtained said gems!”

“Is that where you disappeared to for a week last month?”

“Yes!” Barley reached into his pocket and pulled out a faintly glowing emerald. It was smaller than a phoenix gem, but still a good sized hunk of stone. “I’ve been hunting for assist elements to help you with your magic! I’ve gotten three lesser gems so far!”

“Still this spell doesn’t seem worth using an entire gem.”

“Ah! Read it again, see there?” Barley pointed to a paragraph Ian had skimmed over. 

“Gem can be used for up to five castings… I still don’t know about this.”

“Oh come on! OTHER. DIMENSIONS. IAN.”

“You’re not going leave me alone until I do this, are you?”

“Absolutely not.” 

* * *

Kris was not having the best day. She’d forgotten a homework assignment again and instead of the leisurely Sunday she’d planned for herself she had to work basically all day to get it done. On top of that, her car had decided to stop working so she had no transport and a car repair bill she couldn’t pay. Despite her financial strain, or maybe because of it, she just wanted to buy a hot cup of tea and sit in a coffee shop to do her homework for the day. She was tired of her cramped apartment and her roommates. A coffee shop may be technically noisier but nobody knew her or excepted her to talk to them. 

Bundled up against the winter chill she hopped on a bus to take her to one of her favorite coffee shops. Thankfully, her student ID gave her a free bus pass. Her laptop, drawing tablet, and soundproof headphones were all carefully stowed in her backpack, as well as some snacks and a water bottle. The coffee shop didn’t care if she brought outside food in, as long as she bought something. Which was one of the reasons it was her favorite, that and they had a really good loose leaf tea selection. 

The closest bus stop was about five blocks away from her destination. She pulled the stop rope and waited for the other passengers to get off before doing the same. But while the other passengers had met a sidewalk stepping off the bus, Kris didn’t. She stepped off and fell into nothing. 

* * *

“Barley, that last dimension was just a wall, do you really want to keep doing this?”

“Yes! The one before was full of sentient plants, that was amazing!”

“They shot lasers at us!”

“Yeah! Amazing!”

“One grazed your face! It could have hit your eye!”

“But it didn’t!”

Ian squinted at his brother, clutching his splinter staff in his hands. “Uh! Fine! One more, but then I need to get back to my paper.”

“At least two more! Come on, I don’t want to waste the gem!”

“Fiine,” Ian moaned. He turned to face the back wall of their house. They’d decided it was best to try this outside, just in case the magic kicked up a wind and tossed all of Ian’s stuff around. He exhaled and concentrated on the spell, saying the incantation with conviction. A purple vortex opened up on the wall, they had noticed that each portal had a different color, and it was never the same twice. Barley started to eagerly approach the portal but before he could a pair of feet shot out of it, clipping Barley and Ian on either side. The body flailed wildly as the residual momentum wore off and gravity took over. They careened straight into a pile of old tires Barley had lying against the back fence.

Barley was running to the person before Ian could even think, his arm stung from where some heavy boots had grazed him. It all happened so fast, Barley had barely made it to the person before the portal closed permanently. 

“Shit!” Barley swore, looking back at the wall.

“Did a whole ass person just shoot through the portal?!?” Ian exclaimed in horror. 

Barley looked at him with his teeth clenched and nodded. 

“I am NEVER doing that spell again!”

Barley nodded again, his face concerned and guilty. He looked down at the stranger as he crouched on one knee, hovering over them. 

Ian couldn’t tell much about them, other than they were smaller than Barley and bipedal like an elf or cyclops. No Satyr legs or Mermaid tail. They were wrapped up in winter gear and it was impossible to make out distinct features. They had a brown backpack on. A moment of pure panic passed before the person seemed to regain their breath and coughed convulsively. They leaned over and made retching sounds. 

“Um… are you… are you okay?” Barley asked tentatively. 

“Do you think they’d even understand us?” Ian asked, carefully stepping forward. The person didn’t look dangerous, just extremely disoriented. They continued coughing at the ground and spat once before taking in a few deep breathes and looking up at Barley. 

“Why are you blue…?” came a faint feminine voice. They tugged at their scarf that had obscured much of their face, as well as a pair of glasses and a winter hat. Barley could see how pale they looked, all the blood was drained from… her face? Her general skin tone looked like something a satyr or mermaid could have, but her body looked like an elf’s. She didn’t have long ears either, they were rounded off like a cyclops, but she had two eyes. She wasn’t an elf and not a cyclops or satyr, what was she? 

“Hey, you okay?” He repeated. At least they seemed to speak the same language which was a good start. 

“I was on a bus…” she muttered. 

“Do you feel hurt anywhere?” he continued.

“Your ears are so pointy…” she babbled and seemed to be looking very intently at his face and past his face at the same time. 

“Can you move at all?” 

She keeled over and vomited on his shoe. 

* * *

As soon as she stepped off the bus, Kris’s stomach lifted up into her chest. The ground had impossibly opened up and she was falling. There were a couple of heart stopping moments that seemed to go on forever where Kris couldn’t feel anything but the sensation of hurdling towards a void. Then the world opened up again, but the sky was suddenly in front of her and she couldn’t see the ground. An awful turning sensation happened as her body was suddenly pulled by a force from behind her. She felt her body hitting something hard but pliant and she bounced off of it, her neck whiplashing forward. The ground hit next and if the wind hadn’t been knocked out of her before, it definitely was now. 

Pain and nausea filled her body and her lungs ached. All she could do was cough and splutter as she tried to get a breath. Voices seemed to be coming from far away, were they talking to her? She looked up and saw a huge figure hovering over her. The face looked concerned though and… blue? Why blue? Was she hallucinating too? A wave of nausea hit her before she could actually figure it out and then she blacked out. 

* * * 

“What do you mean, not from this dimension?” Laurel Lightfoot was by now used to a certain amount of high jicks from her boys, but not an unconscious stranger on her couch. “Barley, what did you do?”

Her eldest was standing over the stranger, his arms crossed and nervously biting his finger nails. “I didn’t do anything!”

Laurel made an accusatory give-me-a-break face. 

“I cast the spell, mom, it wasn’t really anyone’s fault.” Ian reasoned, although he looked equally nervous, clutching his splinter staff to his chest and other hand tucked in his armpit. “She just kind of popped out of the portal, it closed too fast otherwise we would have put her back!”

“Uh huh…” Laurel grimaced as she looked at the person who was knocked out cold. This was going to be fun to try to explain to Colt. “Do you know anything about this person? Who is she?”

“We found a wallet in her backpack, her name is Kristen. She’s got a student ID to a University of Uh-tah? Or something.” Ian supplied, he lifted up the wallet for his mother to look at. Laurel squinted at the picture of a dark brown haired young woman with pale skin. She looked like a strange combination between an elf and a cyclops, but with a satyr’s skin tone. Other than that she looked fairly normal if a bit off. “Well at least she’s not some kind of inter-dimensional horror.” 

“I’d almost prefer that,” Barley muttered. 

“Of course you would,” she sighed. 

The woman stirred on the couch and let out a groan. Both of the boys jumped at the noise. Barley then moved closer, but Laurel stopped him. “Give her some space,” she cautioned. 

The stranger’s eyes opened and she blinked, taking in the room. She shifted and slowly made to sit up, taking her hat off and struggling with the scarf around her neck. She looked up at all of them. “You are all still blue…” she mumbled. She then ripped off her gloves and started fumbling with this zipper of her coat. “Fuck, I’m boiling…” she wheezed. 

Barley made to help, but again his mother stopped him. She knew her son meant well, but he was a big guy and it might be less threatening if she helped instead. She gently pulled the scarf off the girl’s head and helped unzip the front of the coat. Underneath the girl had a bulky black sweater on that said “Have you seen the Mothman?” on it with a bizarre illustration of a creature. She began tugging on the sleeves to get that off as well. Laurel again helped by pulling it off her head. And still the girl had another thinner sweater underneath. No wonder she’d been so uncomfortable. That seemed to give her the relief she wanted though because she stopped wriggling out of her clothes. She must have come from a very cold place. New Mushroomton was a coastal city and so it’s climate was rather temperate all year round. 

The girl still looked very disoriented and she moaned again and clutched her head with her hands. 

“Barley, get her a glass on water,” Laurel instructed. She tried to calm herself before turning to the woman and put on the best mom voice she could do. “Hey there, how are you feeling?”

The stranger only grunted.

“What’s you name?”

“Uhhhh…. Kris? Yeah, Kris… technically Kristen, but I shorten it.”

“How old are you?”

“23…”

“Just a few years older than my oldest son.”

“Neato,” Kris was rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands through this interaction. As Barley came back with a glass of water, she looked up and visibly flinched as his approach. “Jesus!” She muttered under her breath. Barley looked sheepish, but still held out the water for her to take. 

“This is Barley, my oldest,” Laurel said laying a motherly hand on his arm. “And my youngest here is Ian,” she gestured to Ian who was still nervously gripping his staff several feet away. “I’m Laurel Lightfoot, you’re in our home.” 

Kris was still staring at Barley as she slowly took the water out of his hand. “Charmed, I’m sure…” she muttered. She cautiously took a sip and contemplated it for a moment before taking more slow sips. They all let her digest this information and drink the water in silence. Laurel could tell Barley was full of nervous energy, most likely wanting to burst with questions. Ian looked like he might faint. She motioned for him to sit down. 

“I guess…” Kris started. “I guess I’m a bit confused, because last thing I remember I was getting off a bus to go to a coffee shop… but now I’m in a living room full of blue… elves? You guys look like elves, you know that right?” 

“We are elves, hon.” Laurel answered.

“Riiighhht, okay, yeah, coool, co-co-coool. Okay. I’m having a psychotic breakdown. Art school finally broke me. At least I have a good excuse for not finishing my homework…”

“You’re from a different dimension than ours!” Barley blurted out before Laurel could stop him. She waved frantically at him to stop, but he kept going. “We opened a portal to your dimension, we just wanted to look around for a quick second, but I guess you fell into it on accident.”

Kris looked at him as if he had two heads. “What?”

“We brought you here on accident, we never planned for any of this to happen, I swear!”

Kris’s eyes widened as she stared at him and then shifted her gaze to nothing in particular. She chugged the remaining water and put the glass on the ground. “Well it’s been real swell you guys, but I need to wake up now.” She made to stand abruptly but swayed immediately and Barley caught her before she fell. She clutched onto him for balance but slightly reeled back as her hands gripped his arm. “You feel inSANELY real for a hallucination!” 

Barley winced and shrugged. Kris kept one hand on his arm for balance but poked his chest. “Like a big blue wall…”

“I’m guessing blue skin isn’t common in your dimension?” He chuckled nervously. 

“No! No it’s not! Can I go home now?!?” 

As Barley’s face crumpled into guilt, Kris let go and fell back onto the couch. 

“You can’t go home…” Ian said quietly as he sat, wriggling his hands around the splinter staff. “The spell only opens a portal for ten seconds… and you can’t open the same portal twice.”

“Wait, what?” Laurel hadn’t heard this part. She’d thought her boys would have a solution. Surely Barley knew of some kind of spell to get her back. 

“She’s stuck here…” Ian said. 

* * *

Kris ate whatever the mom elf had given her without tasting it. Her arm was sore from pinching herself, she almost wanted to break the skin just to make sure she was still here, that this was real. This couldn’t be real. 

She was in Wonderland, Oz, Narnia, whatever, she had to be dreaming. Earlier she’d regained her balance and was able to step outside. She was in a suburb, but every house was a giant fucking mushroom. She watched in utter disbelief as a satyr across the street mowed his lawn. The sun was setting and she could see two crescent moons sitting in the sky like they had any right to be there.

The bad dream continued and soon there was a fucking centaur in a cop uniform walking around asking questions about her. “Who is she, Laurel? Where did she come from? Can’t your boys leave well enough alone for once?” Kris could only sit and stare at him. She was in shock, she could feel it. She should be upset, she should be screaming, but instead all she could feel was numb. At one point she’d noticed a little doe-eyed snake like creature sniff her leg. It skittered away before she could get a good look at it. It couldn’t have been a dragon, could it?

“Wow! You’re way better than me!” the big blue guy was going through her sketchbook. He seemed completely unaware of how nosy he was being. He had asked if he could go through her bag, but Kris barely heard him and by the time she registered what he was doing it was already too late. Normally she’d be horrified to have a stranger look through her sketchbook, and a muffled part of her was squirming at the idea, but the numbness overwhelmed. She continued to chew on whatever food it was in front of her. She assumed it was food, it looked like toast. It was wild to her that she could be sitting in what looked a like a normal suburban kitchen, but a blue elf man was sitting not two feet from her and a centaur was in the other room. 

“Ooo! I like this one!” he held up her sketchbook on a page where she’d drawn a dragon she’d been proud enough of to properly ink. His smile was so open and completely genuine. _He’s hot_ , Kris thought in a completely detached way. She continued to blankly stare at him and took another bite of toast. Objectively he was extremely attractive in her opinion. Not in a normal Legolas elf way, she’d never found that attractive any way, no this guy was tall, but stocky. Huge broad shoulders and big muscular arms, she’d noticed a Celtic knotting tattoo on his right arm. He was fat, and his face was soft with a start of a goatee, good cheekbones, and hazel eyes. He had this denim vest on, covered in patches, she didn’t know what any of them meant but they all looked vaguely punk rock? Metal? But also heavy DnD vibes. DnD didn’t exist in a place like this, did it? Regardless, the grungy look did it for her, somehow. His hair was the best bit. How did he get his hair to look so perfectly disheveled but soft looking? He had to put product in it, but it didn’t look stiff. Maybe it was magic. Magic elf hair… 

“So you have dragons in your world too?” 

“Huh…?” Kris pulled out of her thought bubble. 

“Dragons? You draw a lot of them. How many species does your world have?”

“Dragons aren’t real,” she said flatly. 

“Oh,” he looked deflated. 

“Neither are elves, but you keep talking to me,” she felt so numb, so unreal. 

He didn’t know what to say to that and just looked sad instead. 

“I’d really like this to not be real,” she felt the tears well up and fall down her face. She watched as he struggled to know what to do. He carefully closed her sketchbook and got up. He awkwardly stood next to her and patted her shoulder. 

“I didn’t mean to-” he halted and Kris heard him swallow hard. She didn’t have the energy to look up at him. Tears kept coming, she could feel them traveling down her throat. She knew she was devastated, she could feel her heartbreaking as her mind caught up to what was happening. She’d never see her mom again, her sister… all her friends… her life… gone, all gone. There was no goodbye, no closure. They’d never know what happened to her. She’d be a missing person forever. Her mom would be mad with grief, she knew it. Would she go mad too? Was that what she was feeling? Suddenly the toast wasn’t sitting well. 

She lurched over to the kitchen sink and gagged. She felt big hands pull back her hair gently. The toast came up in one big gross wad. Her nose stung from the stomach acid and smelled just as bad. It all mixed with the tears and became a bitter, salty taste in her mouth. She tried to spit it out, but it lingered. She pawed for a paper towel and meant to just wipe herself off but she ended up screaming into it. She collapsed on the floor in a heap, uncontrollably shaking. 

Her chest was tight, she was having trouble breathing, it felt like she was dying. God, was this what dying was like? When she got off that bus did she somehow get hit by a car instead and this strange world was just the last gasps of a dying brain trying to make sense of what happened before it faded? 

Something was touching her, it wrapped around her back and something else pulled up on her legs. She was vaguely aware that the big guy, Barl? Was talking to her. 

“Hey, Kris look at me. Please look at me.” Fingers nudged at her chin. “I think you’re having a panic attack, you’re hyperventilating.”

She peered up, unable to focus for a second before landing on his face. It was very close to hers, he had freckles on his cheeks. “Can you breathe with me?” he asked. 

Kris swallowed and tried to answer but a straggled sob came out instead. 

“I know, I know,” he said softly. “I used to get these. Please try to focus on my face.” His hand stroked the side of her cheek. 

“C-can’t-” she garbled.

“Yes you can, I know you can.” 

She tried again and found his gaze, it was steady and confident. “Good, now keep focusing on me and I want you to take one deep breathe in. I’ll count to five.” She shakily started to try but only got to three. “That’s okay, we’ll try again.” 

He patiently helped her get her breathing under control. She felt less out of control but still shaky, like she could go back to hyperventilating at any moment. 

“You’re doing amazing, now I want you to list three things you can see.” 

Kris suddenly realized she was very close to this strange man. They were both of the floor and he’d pulled her up into his lap and was cradling her in his arms. She felt her cheeks flush and decided to list things that weren’t him. 

“A fridge… A side table with a bunch of shit on it…” Kris felt his chest rumble with a suppressed chuckle “and a clock… it looks like those old cat clocks but… a dragon. Weird… also I want one…” 

“They aren’t dragons where you’re from?”

“No, they’re cats.”

“Go figure. Now can you tell me two things you can touch?”

Kris realized she was gripping onto his t-shirt. “Shirt,” she muttered, rubbing the fabric in between her fingers. Then also realized this was slightly embarrassing and let go. She looked down and placed her hand on the linoleum floor, “…and kitchen floor.”

"How does it feel?”

“Cool… smooth,” she said feeling her body start to calm down. Now she felt very tired. 

“Doing great, one last thing, name something you can smell.”

That was easy, she could smell him and he smelled terrible. Like body odor, motor oil, and unwashed clothing. “You smell like a car died in an armpit.” 

A laugh actually escaped him then, his whole body shaking with it. Kris liked his laugh a lot, and that was her last thought as she slumped against his chest and fell asleep. 

* * *

Her breathe was worse than a wolf-dragon’s but her hair smelled like sweet citrus. Barley tried not to think about how soft and warm she felt in his arms as he awkwardly maneuvered off the floor. 

Earlier he’d tried really hard not to think about how weirdly cute she was. Not weirdly cute, actually, properly cute, he just felt weird about it. He had accidentally trapped her here after all. Her big brown eyes made him feel horrible and captivated at the same time. Her haircut was awesome looking, one side shaved clean and the other long and flowing. He’d also tried very hard not to notice how full her figure was when she’d leaned on him, but now that she was pressed up against him it was very very hard to not notice. This did mean she was heavy though, he didn’t know if he’d be able to carry her to the couch. 

He positioned himself so that he could lift her up in one go. He could do this, just one, two, thre- oh boy, yeah she was heavy. He hobbled through the kitchen and frantically rushed to the couch before he dropped her. She landed not super gracefully, Barley winced but she was out cold again. He placed two fingers on her neck to check her pulse. It was steady, good. Also super lucky that her anatomy was so close to an elf’s. He wondered what else was the sa- nope, not appropriate. _Especially since she is unconscious and you are a strange large man_ , Barley berated himself. Her hair was in her face though, he pulled it away and realized that both sides of her head were shaved. She just had a LOT of hair. Soft hair that smelled good. _Stop it._ She didn’t even like him anyway. He was the big blue wall that smelled like an armpit. He deserved that, he really should shower more…

“You got her to calm down?” his mom said from behind. Barley flinched at the sound, he’d been too caught up in his own bullshit. 

“Um… yeah, she’s asleep again. This time I think it’s actually sleep not just, ya know, knocked out.”

“You did a good job, sweetie.” She rubbed his back. 

“Well I had a good teacher,” he smiled fondly at her. Back when he was little and Dad had just barely passed, he’d get panic attacks. He would get so worried that Mom would be the next one to get sick or maybe even himself and his anxiety spiked horribly. Mom had always been amazing at calming him down though, and as he grew they happened less and less often, until they stopped completely. Honestly taking care of Ian was a major reason why, it gave him something to focus on, something he could control in a small way. 

“I heard her say you stink though, you should get on that.” 

Barley sighed and looked down at his smirking mother. She winked and then took a blanket off the top of the couch to cover their… guest? Visitor? Permanent visitor… Boy, what a mess he’d made this time.

* * * 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kris is stuck in a new dimension and this overly dramatic elf man is trying help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be bad at summaries. I hate summarizing.

The first thing Kris noticed as she woke up was how sore her whole body felt. What had she done? She couldn’t remember doing any kind of physical labor or exercise. She’s spent yesterday re-watching DS9 and eating Nutella out of the jar, there was no way she would be this- No… that hadn’t been yesterday, that had been the day before. Yesterday she’d- 

Her eyes popped open. That ceiling was not her bedroom ceiling but it looked normal enough. It felt like she was on a couch, she had a blanket over her. She took a deep breathe and exhaled. Her mouth tasted absolutely foul, insanely bitter and acrid with barely any spit to swallow with. She coughed and heard a scuttling sound, that had started entirely too close to her, patter away. 

“Is she awake? I made her some tea,” a motherly voice came from the other room. 

“Yeah, I just saw her eyes open,” said another younger male voice. 

Oh no… oh no no no. It was still happening. Kris heard feet approaching her.

“Good morning,” the mom elf said softly as she bent down to Kris’s level. What had her name been again? Coral? It ended in an “el” sound. She had a steaming mug of something in her hand, the tea. “Can you sit up?”

Kris flexed to get up and immediately the soreness came into sharp relief. “Ah!” she grimaced and only managed roll over on her side. She propped herself up on her right elbow. The left side of her body felt particularly rough. 

“Here,” the mom offered a hand and pulled her up into a sitting position and then gave her the mug of tea. Kris sniffed at it. It smelled like… spearmint? But off somehow, not quite mint, more earthy. She took a sip, it was really hot but it gave instant relief to her dry mouth. She sighed in contentment. A hot cup of tea made things a whole lot more bearable. “Thank you…” she eased back into the couch, holding the tea with both hands close to her face. 

“I’m surprised you like it, my boys hate that medicinal tea. But it’s good for you.”

“I fucking love tea,” Kris said sleepily. 

“I see you have a similar love of cursing as Barley…” the mom said dryly. 

“Oh. Sorry.” Kris blushed and took another sip of tea. 

“You’re one to talk, mom,” the younger brother said as he came in the room. Ian. Why could Kris remember that name? Maybe because it sounded the most normal. 

“Hush, do as I say not as I fucking do,” the mom said sardonically. Laurel, Kris suddenly remembered. Her name was Laurel. “How are you feeling this morning? Better than last night? I know Barley had to calm you down.” 

Kris vaguely remembered being a retching sobbing mess. God, she must have looked disgusting, vomit, snot and tears everywhere. Her gut clenched at the thought of the big cute guy staring her straight in the face as she fell apart. She sniffed and felt how crusty her face was. She hadn’t cleaned up at all. 

“Gross. Can I wash my face?” She asked.

“Oh! Yes of course, let me get you a towel,” Laurel walked off. 

Kris looked for a place for her tea and placed it on a side table next to the couch. She then tried to get up, but her muscles seized. 

“Here, let me help,” Ian said and offered his hands. He was a much slimmer build than his brother, so Kris tried not rely on his help too much as she creaked into a standing position. Pain shot through the left side of her body as she stood. “Gah! Ow, ow, ow…” she huffed. 

“You hit some tires coming out of the portal yesterday…” Ian said as he continued to give her support. He looked extremely worried and nervous. 

“Yeah, I think I know where they hit.” Kris growled and motioned to her left side. 

“You didn’t tell me she was hurt,” Laurel said accusingly at her son as she came back with a hand towel. “Let’s see how bad it is, hon. Lift your shirt a bit.” 

Kris grunted and pulled up the side of her sweater, she looked down to see a bloom of purple bruising spreading along her side. She heard both the elves suck in through their teeth. There must be worse that I can’t see, she thought. 

“I want to get you to see a doctor,” Laurel said “make sure you don’t have a broken rib or something. But I have to go to work… do you feel like you’re in serious pain? Can you breathe okay?” 

Kris lowered her sweater and nodded, “Yeah I think I’ll be okay, it doesn’t hurt to inhale at least?” She smiled sheepishly. Laurel’s worried expression didn’t lessen but she smiled back. 

“Well, here’s a hand towel to wash up with. I’ve gotta go and Ian’s got school as well, which leaves you with Barley. I heard him get up, so when you’re ready he can get some food for you. If he bugs you with questions too much, just tell him to stop, he gets overly enthusiastic sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” Ian snorted. 

Laurel waved that away and continued, “I get home at 5:30, I’ll see if I can get a break off work tomorrow to take you in to see a doctor and we can go from there. Okay?” 

Kris felt insanely lucky to have this woman looking after her. If she needed anything right now, it was a mom. A lump in her throat formed as the thought of her own mother, but she pushed it down. She didn’t want to fall apart again just yet. The day hadn’t even started, breakdowns could at least wait until afternoon. At Kris’s nod, Laurel handed off the towel and walked over to the front entryway. 

“Barley! I have to go to work so you’re looking after our guest! Make sure you don’t overwhelm her, okay?” Laurel directed her call to down the hall. 

“Yeah mom! I got it!” came a muffled response from up the stairs. 

“Oh, he’s in the upstairs bathroom…” Laurel mused as if this was unusual. “Once he’s out, you can go upstairs to the door on your left and wash up.” She said to Kris and then blew a kiss to Ian and left through the front door. 

“Well ummm… I gotta go too…” Ian said awkwardly as he walked to the door as well. He picked up a backpack that was slumped against the wall. “I’ll see you after school… I guess…” He stood there bouncing on his feet, his eyes darting around. “Yup… Anyway, bye!” And he went out the door too. 

Kris felt a chill ripple through her as she fiddled with the hand towel. This weird dream just wasn’t ending… 

She made a few testing steps and found that she could walk okay, she was just very sore. As she did this, a door upstairs opened and there was the sound of big feet coming down. Barley had almost the exact same outfit he’d had the day before, but a different t-shirt was underneath the vest. His hair was wet, one clump of it drooping over his left eye. He must have showered. Kris wanted to hide behind the towel because she instinctively knew she looked like shit. 

“Oh good, you’re awake!” he said with a smile. “Feeling better?”

“Yes?” Kris shrugged. She honestly felt like garbage but she wasn’t gasping for air or nauseated so that was technically an improvement. “I’m gonna go up and uhh…” She motioned vaguely up the stairs with the towel. 

“Oh! But of course!” Barley stepped out of the way and motioned with a big sweep of his hand and bowed, as if he were letting royalty pass. _This guy is weirdly dramatic_ , Kris thought as she passed him. Going up the stairs was a little tricky, she had to use the banister for balance. 

“Are you in need of help?” Barley asked.

“Nope! I’m good,” Kris gritted her teeth and kept going. She did not want to have him of all people help her up the stairs. Not when she looked like the walking dead. Stepping into the bathroom, Barley had definitely taken a shower. The air was still steamy and the mirror fogged up. She wiped it down with the towel and looked at herself for the first time since this all started. Yup, she was a mess. Her eyes were puffy and slightly red, dark circles were under them. Dried trails of snot and tears tracked down her face and her lips were crusty with something gross. Vomit probably. Lovely. 

She took off her glasses and scrubbed. Her eyes were very crusty as well, she was surprised she could open them. After the wash, her face looked less gross but still haggard. Those dark circles weren’t going away anytime soon and she looked pale. All the color was gone from her cheeks. 

“Welp…” She sighed looking herself in the eye. “I don’t seem to be waking up, so I guess all I can do is see what happens next. What are the positives…” She swallowed and took in a breath. “I’m… alive? Debatable… I can move my body… kind of. I seem to have landed with people who are genuinely nice and want to help.” Yeah, that was a big plus. Honestly as far as bad dreams went, this wasn’t that bad at all. Nothing had tried to hurt her and there was even a nice mom to take care of her. Maybe one day she’d wake up in a psych ward and this would be over but for now she thought she could handle it. 

She cleaned her glasses and went down stairs again. Going down them was actually more painful than going up. She found her mug of tea again and took bigger gulps since it had cooled down. 

“I see Mom made you some of that awful medicinal tea, did she at least put honey in it?” Barley said looking over at her from the kitchen. He was looking through the cupboards. Kris swallowed her last gulp. “No, but it’s fine. I kinda like it.” 

“Huh…” Barley moved on to the fridge. At that moment Kris’s stomach decided to make an incredibly loud gurgling sound. 

“It seems we are both in dire need of sustenance!” Barley exclaimed in response as he slammed the fridge door shut. “Mom hasn’t gone to store yet… Shall I escort us to some breakfast?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of car keys. 

The tea had definitely awakened Kris’s stomach and she was now acutely aware that what she had eaten the day before, she had barfed back up. She was ravenous. She drained the last of the tea in a few big chugs and nodded vigorously. “Yes, please.”

“Excellent! And I can introduce you to Guinevere the Second! Come along!” 

Kris scrunched up her face in confusion but followed as Barley headed out the front door. 

* * *

Guinevere the Second turned out to be one of the ugliest beat up old vans that Kris had ever seen. It was an ugly faded orange color except for a giant illustration on the side panel of Barley and Ian dressed up like a viking and wizard respectively and riding on the back of a gleaming white Pegasus. She had no idea what to make of it, but Barley was oozing with pride as he introduced it. He affectionately patted the hood, “Built her all by myself, she is my mighty steed!”

“Cool…” Kris said flatly. It was not cool. It was one of the dorkiest things she’d ever seen, but she wasn’t about to judge. She’d made her fair share of janky projects based off of things she loved and none of them had driving capability. But looking at Guinevere the Second she was skeptical that it actually could drive. And what the hell had happened to Guinevere the First? She was afraid to ask. 

“Hop in!” Barley motioned as he climbed into the driver’s seat. 

Kris found that the passenger door had to be jostled to pry open. Not encouraging. Being an old 70’s style looking van, there was a big step up into the seat. She could do this. She gritted her teeth and winced through the pain as she lifted herself up. She sucked in a breathe and grunted a bit as her bruises throbbed. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Barley asked.

“Oh…” Kris sighed, “you know my whole left side is bruised but I’ll be okay.” Barley’s face melted into concern and guilt but Kris could only shrug. What could he do about it? “Anyway, where are we going?” 

Barley brightened immediately, “I propose we get some breakfast and then I would be more than willing to give you a tour of the town. Help you get your bearings?”

“All I can think about is food right now, my dude.” 

“Right! Onward!” He turned the ignition and the van hiccuped into life. Kris noticed his gear shift was a screw driver and she suddenly felt not so safe. She hastily put on the seat belt, and Barley rocketed out of the drive way. Immediately her feet flew up to the glove box to steady herself and her arms gripped the seat for dear life.

Barley drove like a man possessed. He barely noticed other cars or stop signs or the road for that matter. On top of that, the van’s hydraulics were nonexistent and if not for sheer terror Kris would have been in not a small amount of pain. If her stomach wasn’t completely empty already she would have thrown up again. She was too terrified to really take in where they were going either, it wasn’t until they came to a sharp stop that she could concentrate on where they were. 

They were at a fast food drive thru. Kris peered up and saw the fast food sign “Burger Shire”. In the text display it read: “Now serving 2nd Breakfast!”

“Are you fucking kidding me…” Kris squinted at the sign. This HAD to be her mind having a breakdown. Only her deranged nerdy brain would make up a Lord of the Rings inspired fast food chain. 

“What’s wrong?” Barley looked between the sign and her face. “Not a fan of fast food?” 

“That’s a Lord of the Rings reference…”

“Lord of the Rings?”

“Yes Lord of the Rings! The biggest fantasy novels of all time and some of the best movies ever made, the most influential text in the entire fantasy genre!”

“Never heard of it.” Barley shook his head.

“This has to be my mind fucking with me…” Kris deflated. “God I wish I could just wake up!” She balled her hand up into a fist and hit her forehead. 

“Hey, hey, don’t do that!” Barley caught her hand in his. Kris let her hand fall and her head fall back in the seat. “We can go somewhere else if you want?” Barley offered half-heartedly. She could tell he had no idea how to handle this. 

“No, it’s fine…” 

“Okay…” Barley didn’t seemed convinced, but he pulled forward to the menu anyway. “They’re only serving breakfast right now… do you know what you want?”

“I don’t really care,” Kris muttered. 

Barley scrunched his face up in thought, “Hmmm, any food allergies? Things you don’t like?”

“How would I know if I’m allergic to anything in this dimension? If this is even real… Whatever, I’ll take whatever you get, just get me double.”

“I can eat a lot, young maiden.” 

“Then whatever you get is fine…” Kris waved him away and stared back up at the Burger Shire sign. It was incredibly unsettling to her that a blatant reference to her reality was here in this weirdly mundane fantastical world. Looking at the rest of her surroundings this could be a suburb in California if it weren’t for the fact that a family of goblins was walking by. There was a strip mall across the way and the streets were worn with tar band aids lining the cracks. It felt exactly like the real world but warped. There was no way any of it could actually be real, she was certain now. She’d wake up eventually. 

* * * 

Barley ordered six breakfast sandwiches and two sodas. He asked what Kris wanted for a drink and she just repeated that she’d take what he got. When he ordered Mountain Doom she made a snorting cackling sound but didn’t say anything. She only angrily stared out the window and chewed on her finger nails. 

Barley knew he wasn’t the best at reading people, but even he could tell she was suddenly in a dark mood. Did it actually have something to do with the restaurant’s name? Or was she realizing what he did and she didn’t want anything to do with him? He had hoped to try and cheer her up a bit today or at best he could given that they were strangers. He’s poured over the dimensional portal spell all night trying to find a loop hole. Something to help her get back home. He’d gotten on the Quest of Yore forums to try and crowd source the problem, hoping somebody else knew what to do. Unfortunately nobody had any answers. Most of them were skeptical he was telling the truth and others had as many questions about his trans-dimensional refugee as he did. 

What was her world like? What kind of magic did it have. Apparently dragons and elves weren’t real on her world but she knew what they were? And she drew a lot of the creatures Barley was familiar with. He didn’t recognize all of it, but there seemed to be an overlap to their worlds in some way. She was an excellent artist too, way better than anything he could doodle. He wondered what the creatures she drew actually looked like in real life. 

He got their order and despite her mood, he decided it was still a good idea to take her to the overlook spot he’d planned for them to eat at. It would give her a look at the valley, maybe help ground her a bit? That’s what he would have liked given her situation at least. She was silent the whole time he drove, only making occasional grunting sounds. He realized, probably a little late, that she was basically gripping onto her seat for dear life. He tried to drive with a little more precision after that. He had a habit of getting too caught up in his own excitement. 

He pulled up to the overlook and got their food and drinks in one arm. Kris was slow to get out of the van and Barley remembered she was probably incredibly sore still. His gut wrenched at the memory of her hitting those tires. He quickly went to the passenger door and opened it to help her out. She took his hand and shakily crawled out, her face contorted in pain as she did. She stumbled and bumped into him. 

“Sorry…” she muttered. 

“No need, do you want more help?” He secretly wished he had the strength to carry her so she didn’t have to limp everywhere. 

“No…” she trailed off as she noticed the picnic table a few feet away. 

Barley moved quickly to it, setting their breakfast down and resisting the urge to go back and help her get to the table. She got there a few moments later and sat down next to him with a blank expression on her face. He handed her, her first sandwich. 

“Thanks…” she took it and peeled the wrapping off, inspecting what was in it. “This looks almost exactly like a McDonald’s breakfast sandwich but with a biscuit instead of an English muffin…” She said.

Barley shrugged, eating half of one of his sandwiches in a bite. 

Kris sniffed at her food before finally taking a nibble. After a few contemplative bites she devoured the sandwich and motioned for another one. Barley happily handed it to her. She got to the third before speaking again. 

“I’m sorry, I’ve been rude to you this morning. I can get… cranky when I’m hungry.” 

“Oh. No need to worry about it, I can take it.” He winked at her. Her face flushed and Barley couldn’t help feel a small thrill go through him. The food had brought some color back into her face and the blush made her look absolutely adorable. Maybe she didn’t hate him? He really hoped she didn’t. 

She reached for her soda and took a sip, but recoiled as she did. “Bleck… I have to admit I’m not the biggest fan of soda.”

“Oh I’m sorry, you didn’t really give me other options…”

“No no, it’s my own fault for acting petulant.” 

“I mean, you have a reason to be.” 

“Yeah…” she trailed off, looking out into the valley. “But it’s not like it’s your fault or anything.”

The pit of Barley’s stomach sank. He had to tell her. “Actually… it kind of is?”

“Huh?”

Barley squirmed uncomfortably and took his beanie off to fiddle with in his hands. “I was kind of the one who made Ian do the spell that brought you here…” He confessed. 

Kris seemed to mull that over for a second. “So… you brought me here on… purpose?”

“No! Absolutely not! It was a complete accident! The portal just happened to open on… you, I guess.”

“Were you trying to bring anything through the portal?”

“No! I just wanted to see what other dimensions were like. I mean, that’s wild right?! That there’s other worlds out there that we don’t know anything about! They could have anything in them!” 

“Yeah wouldn’t that be wild…” she said dryly. 

Barley winced, “I’m sorry, this is all my fault…”

Kris took in a deep breathe and blew it out her nose, “I dunno about that.” She started rubbing her eyes with her fingers. “This all feels like one big weird dream to me. I keep hoping I’ll wake up in my bed or hell, even a hospital. The weirdest part is that I’ve day dreamed about being whisked off to some fantasy my whole life and now that it’s actually happening I just want to go home. This place isn’t even that bad, you’ve got electricity and magic, that’s pretty fucking cool.”

“So no magic where you’re from?”

“No!” Kris gave a shaky giggle, “no dragons, no elves, centaurs, satyrs or magical creatures of any kind. Every person I’ve seen in this place is just something made up from my world. It’s supposed to all be fiction! Hell, there’s only one sentient species on our planet and it’s us!”

“And you’re called…?” Barley had been dying to know what she was since he met her, but it felt very rude to ask. 

“Humans! Human fucking beings, homo sapiens! That’s the only form of life I’ve ever held a conversation with until yesterday. Let me tell you how fucking weird it was to look a centaur dead in the face and have it talk to me. Not to mention you!”

“Am I really that weird looking?” Barley had never felt physically self-conscious in all his life but for some reason this girl’s opinion mattered. 

“No, I didn’t…” she trailed off.

“Are male humans way different or something?”

“No,” she chuckled and shook her head. “Honestly get rid of the pointy ears and blue skin and you’d look perfectly human…”

“Are the elves in your world’s stories blue? Cause my skin color seems to really be throwing you off.” 

“I mean, it’s not a complete departure, but not super common. Elves usually can come in two forms depending on the story. They can be small and impish, basically tiny men with pointy ears. Those elves are more common in folklore. In fantasy novels elves are usually tall and willowy with pointy ears… and immortal. Elves are actually always immortal.”

“Seriously?”

“Not a thing for you?”

“No!” Barley scoffed. His life would be completely different if they were. 

“I mean, Tolkien established that they can die from sickness or straight up murder but not old age. And the sickness is always super vague but romantic, like they loose the will to live or the light of Eru Vatar is leaving them or something other.”

“Heh… weird.” Barley didn’t quite know what to say to all this. 

“I’m sorry, I’m babbling. I tend to info dump when I’m nervous.”

“No it’s fine, pretty interesting actually, it’s just that I lost my dad when I was little it’s just really weird to think that if we were like your world thinks, he might still be alive.” 

“Oh, Jesus, I’m sorry I didn’t…”

“No, you didn’t know, it’s fine. I got to say goodbye to him in person a few months ago and it was nice to get the closure.”

“Oh… okay… Wait, what?” 

* * * 

They spent a while talking at the picnic table. Barley told her a whole story about how his dad had left a wizard staff to him and Ian and had made a spell to bring him back for one day. It sounded insane. He was a pretty good story teller, he had her burst out laughing a couple times at the images he described. Watching his face as he talked about it, Kris could tell this was a big thing to happen to him. His emotions around what happened still seemed super fresh. She could tell he had carried a lot of grief and regret about the death of his father and the whole journey had helped ease that. It was also clear that Barley loved his brother to bits and would do just about anything to help him. 

She tried to repress the feelings as his story went on, but by the time he got to the end, she felt tears in her eyes. She would have done the same thing for her sister. Her little sister she’d never see again… 

“So now Ian and I have little adventures all the time now, it’s felt amazing to have something like magic to share with him…”

“Yeah…” Kris nodded, trying as hard as possible to not break down crying in front of this guy again. 

“You okay?”

“Yup! Fine, super good!” She turned away and tried to get up but her body reminded her that she was essentially a giant bruise at the moment. She clunked back down with a groan. 

“Kris, what’s wrong?”

“Not important,” she waved him away, and used her other hand to cover her face and try to compose herself. She actually hated crying in front of other people. It felt way too vulnerable. She tried desperately to try and think of anything else, but the image of her sister’s face was stuck in her head. How long until she forgot what she looked like? She’d never get to grow old with her, never get to meet her chosen partner, never get to meet her kids… Kris gripped onto the edge of the table to try to stay calm. 

“Hey…” Barley hovered over her. He pulled her hand off the table and gripped it in his own. She tried to pull away but he held on. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Kris scoffed and shook her head, “I don’t want to have another breakdown in front of you.”

“I don’t mind…” 

“I do! I don’t like feeling this way, I don’t like feeling like I’m…”

“Lost?”

“Like I’m dead! I feel like I died and my family will never know what happened to me! They’ll spend the rest of their lives wondering if I was killed or I ran away… I have a little sister and I’ll never get to share anything with her ever again! Because I’m here! I’m dead!”

Barley pulled her into a hug, but his hand squeezed her left side. She burst into tears from the physical pain. Unfortunately, he took this as just emotional pain and squeezed more. 

“Bar-Barley, you’re h-urting me,” she gasped as her face was squished up against his chest again. 

“Oh! Shit!” He instantly left go of her side. The panic in his voice made her laugh and cry at the same time. She stayed slumped against his chest though, he was warm and smelled considerably better. After a moment, she lifted her arms up around him, sliding them up his back under the vest. It felt good to feel another solid person against her. She could hear his heartbeat in her ear, it was pumping kinda fast but maybe elf hearts just beat faster. Was he holding his breath? 

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” she asked. 

“Nope!” Barley replied a little too loudly and his voice cracked. 

Kris gave a low chuckle and pulled away, wiping her face on her sleeve. She could see Barley’s torso visibly relax out of the corner of her eye. How old was he? He was big, which made him look older, but maybe he was still a teenager. Yeesh. 

“How old are you?” she asked.

“I turned 20 last month.” 

“Okay… wait how many days are in a year for you?”

“365.”

“And a day is 24 hours?”

“Yeah… why?”

“It’s just so weird how similar our worlds are. It’s like a fantasy veneer was just slapped onto the real world.”

Barley squinted at her, “how do you know yours is the original instead of your world just being a super boring version of mine?”

Kris snorted, “Touché.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kris gets more acquainted with the world she finds herself in.

Driving back from the overlook, Kris noticed that Barley’s driving had gotten less chaotic. He still jumped the curb on basically every turn but he didn’t speed up or stop the van as abruptly. She wondered if he realized his driving was making her nervous and had adjusted for her. Or maybe he just drove like this depending on his mood, she had no idea. 

She felt better after talking to him, just getting her feelings out into the open air felt better than having them stew in her head forever. With a calmer ride, she was able to look around and this place really did look like a Californian suburb but fantasy-ish… Like a weird mundane renaissance festival. Barley drove by and pointed out his favorite park and the tabletop gaming store he worked at, and finally he pulled up into what looked like a school. The building read “New Mushroomton High School” and then was a giant cartoon dragon mascot painted on a wall that said “Go Dragons!”

“Ha! Is this the school that got absorbed into the Phoenix Gem curse and tried to kill you?”

“Indeed, my most observant companion!” Barley had seemed a bit shy after Kris had hugged him, but he’d gotten back his gusto. “Ian’s about to get out of school and I figured we could pick him up.” 

Kris nodded and leaned forward to get a better look at the building. “Was this your high school too?”

“Yeah…” Barley huffed. “School was never something I was great at though.” 

“No plans for college?” Kris asked nonchalantly, but she saw Barley’s face sour instantly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up a bad subject.”

“Nah, you’re fine… It’s just something my mom loves to harp on about. I just have no idea what I would even do there if I did go, ya know? I’m happy working at the shop and planning campaigns with my friends, spending time with Ian… College just seems like a waste of time at the moment.”

“Hmmm,” Kris could kinda see where he was coming from. College was - had been brutal for her. She’d struggled so much she’d had to keep going for an extra year longer than her peers and she still wasn’t done. Now she’d never be done.

“I was struggling in college to be honest,” she confessed. “The fact that I’ll never finish now isn’t as upsetting as I thought it would be. Art school was so gatekeepy, they expected a certain type of art from me that I just wasn’t interested in making. It’s a relief that I’ve never have to sit through a stupid pretentious critique ever again.”

“What kind of art do you like making?”

“It feels incredibly ironic now, but fantasy illustrations and comics.” 

“Hence the dragons in your sketchbook! You’re really good by the way.”

“Thanks… Dragons are my favorite…”

“Have you met Blazey yet?”

“Who?”

“Our pet dragon?”

“YOU OWN A PET DRAGON?!?! DRIVE HOME RIGHT NOW!!”

Barley laughed at her outburst but shook his head, “Patience, my friend, we have to wait for Ian!” 

* * *

Unfortunately, Barley could tell he was a bit smitten. Which was ridiculous since he’d barely known the girl for less than a day. When she’d hugged him at the overlook, her hands going up his back, her chest pushed up against his belly, his whole body tingled. He’d forgotten how to breathe. 

It wasn’t like he’d never been touched before either. He’d had partners for a few months before, a fling with a girl or boy here and there, but nothing serious. He’d never been shy around a romantic interest either. He was the one to flirt and ask the person out first, but the idea of starting something with her felt… different. Scary different. Barley didn’t like feeling scared. Normally in this situation he’d ask her out, they’d have fun together and then they’d both move on. But courting a woman who was a trans-dimensional refugee trapped in your world because of you and was dependent on your family’s hospitality? That was a power dynamic that made him feel gross. There was no straight path forward to getting rid of these new feelings however, so he decided to squash them down. Maybe think about it later when she wasn’t stuck at his house. 

It was hard not to think about it though. Especially when he and Ian introduced her to Blazey. The dragon was usually ready to slobber over anybody, but she seemed a little weary of Kris. Kris made up for it in patience though, she was determined to pet her. Her whole demeanor had changed when Barley had mentioned his pet. Her eyes lit up and she was suddenly full of questions and passionate interest. Barley was hard pressed to find people that were as excitable as he was about history and Quests of Yore, but Kris seemed to have the exact same level of pure joy for animals. Watching her giggling and looking genuinely happy for the first time ever when Blazey finally licked her face and let her hold her, made his chest feel tight.

His next mistake was showing her the monster manual for Quests of Yore. She was completely enthralled. She wanted to know about every creature there was, if they still existed and if they did how she could find them. She even wanted to see a gelatinous cube even though he and Ian insisted that it was not that great of an experience. 

“But how does it work? Is it alive? Does it have a nervous system? Do they live forever? How do they reproduce? I’d bet asexually, that only makes sense. Oo! Do you think they come in different colors based on what they dissolve? Does anybody actually study this stuff, they have to right? Are there more books? I need them!” It was like somebody had injected her with energy drinks. The questions were rapid and constant. Barley didn’t know how to answer most of them and he realized very quickly that she was a helluva lot smarter than he was. Which was hot. God damn it. 

Before long though Colt came home, his step-dad had some questions for their guest now that she seemed to be in better spirits than when she arrived. Had she ever been convicted of a crime? What was her relationship with alcohol? Her family? Had she ever spent a night in jail? What were her grades like in school? Barley and Ian tried their best to stop his insanely probing questions, but the centaur ignored them. He was very skeptical of this new stranger even though Kris looked about as menacing as a rabbit. The one thing that saved her from more interrogation was Mom coming home with pizza. 

Laurel went straight into mom mode, happy to see Kris in higher spirits and making sure she got something to eat before her boys devoured it all. She told them she’d gotten a bit of time off work tomorrow and she was going to take Kris to see a doctor. She had Kris lift up her shirt to look at her side again. Barley felt like an idiot for being so reckless with her, seeing just how badly her skin was bruised. It basically covered her entire left side and he was willing to bet it went down her leg too. Even Colt seemed sympathetic and apologized for coming on so strong at first. 

“Hopefully it’s just a big ol’ bruise and you’ll be back in perfect health in no time,” Laurel assured her. “This weekend I’d also like to take you to the mall to get you some clothes. I imagine you didn’t exactly come here with a suitcase.”

Kris sheepishly plucked at the sweater she was wearing. “Not really no, but I don’t have any money and-”

“Oh I’ll cover everything don’t worry about it,” Laurel brushed her off.

“I can’t accept that, you’ve been so gracious I don’t want to take more hospitality than I should. Please let me do something for it at least? I can so something around the house?” 

“Can you cook dinner once a week?”

“I can cook dinner every day if you want me to.”

“Oo! Don’t tempt me!” Laurel laughed and patted Kris on the knee. 

“It’s really the least I can do, you didn’t ask for me to be here and you’re being so kind.”

“You didn’t exactly ask to be here either, hon.” Laurel countered and Kris gave a sad smile. Barley felt like shit again looking at that sad little smile. His mom continued, “look, as far as I’m concerned, you’re under my roof and that makes you my responsibility as a mother. I’ll make sure you get on your feet and get adjusted to life. I won’t ever put you on the street. The only thing I ask in return is that you clean up after yourself,” she eyed Barley, “and you don’t steal my shit.” 

Kris snorted. “That’s entirely too generous of you.” 

“Of course it is, that’s why I’m the best mom.” 

* * * 

As the evening wore down, Laurel went and got a pair of her own pajamas for Kris to wear. Kris was a bit taller but they’re body shapes were very similar and Laurel was confident Kris would fit into a pair. She also encouraged Kris to take a nice long bath. “A good soak will do you wonders, feel free to use my shampoo and conditioner too.” Kris was constantly amazed at how welcoming this family was being. 

Kris locked the bathroom door as she got in and started to tentatively strip down. It was hard to take clothes off when one side of your body was impossible to touch without feeling a shock of pain. The hard part was her top and bra, she wore a pull over and it was hard to wriggle over her head. Eventually she accepted that it would just hurt like a bitch and she took it off in one go. The pants were much easier. 

There wasn’t a full length mirror in the bathroom, so she had to edge back towards the wall to see just how badly the bruise was. There was some bruising on her left upper arm, but along her side and left leg was the worst of it. It was huge, basically taking up the majority of her entire width. It was particularly bad around her hip and upper thigh. Luckily she could move her hip without much pain, so she took that as a good sign. 

She started to fill the tub and came back to looking at herself in the mirror. Was this still really happening? She turned so that the dragon tattoo on her shoulder showed. She reached up under her armpit to touch the bottom of the coiled tail. The wings arched up long and spindly up the outside of her shoulder. The head turned inward, was wolf like and had an oddly anxious expression that Kris loved. It hadn’t been the intention of the design but it fit her anyway. She’d gotten this tattoo to remind herself to be brave. That she’d overcome dragons… like her first boyfriend… like her father. She swallowed a lump and took a deep breath. She could do this. 

Sinking into the hot water was practically orgasmic. Laurel had been right on the money. 

* * * 

Next day Laurel couldn’t take her to the doctor until the afternoon, Ian had school as usual, and Barley had to work at the gaming shop. So Kris was left alone in the house for the first time. She honestly didn’t know what to do. As a child of divorce she was used to having to entertain herself while alone at home, but this felt different. This wasn’t her house, it was hard to relax. 

She sat at the dining room table feeling out of place and nervous for a while just listening to the little dragon clock tick. She remembered her sketchbook and pulled it out. Blazey was sleeping in her little bed, so Kris did a few little studies of her while she was still. As she turned to a blank page though she didn’t know what to draw next. She started absentmindedly drawing a face when she realized she was drawing Barley. His smile made her chest feel tight, it had this little curve in it that made him look a little devilish. Like he was constantly getting into things he shouldn’t but did it anyway. 

She put down her pencil and pushed her glasses up with her hands to rub her face. It was not a good idea to get little butterflies over a guy she barely knew. When she got infatuated with someone, she did it hard and it usually ended with her making an ass of herself. It was especially dangerous since she was stuck at his house there was no distance barrier between them. There wasn’t a long walk across campus to make her think about what she was doing and turn around. She tended to be very impulsive around her crushes and that behavior seemed particularly stupid at the moment. She erased the drawing and put her sketchbook away.

Before she’d left, Laurel had mentioned that there was a washer and dryer downstairs connected to Barley’s room. Since she wasn’t getting any new clothes until the weekend and the ones she had were super gross it seemed like a good idea to wash them while nobody was here and Kris could just hang out in Laurel’s PJs. Barley hadn’t seemed perturbed with the idea of her going through his room before he left for work. In fact he had encouraged her to read through any Quests of Yore books she wanted while she was down there. Still it felt weird to be in somebody’s bedroom without them in it. 

Walking down the stairs, Kris was completely unsurprised to find that Barley’s room looked like a hurricane lived there. A hurricane that loved junk food and swords. His walls were plastered with band posters, historic magical illustrations, and a couple of throwing axes were embedded into the wood. An unmade queen bed was shoved in the corner and the sheets were on the floor leading up to it. There was a long work desk with a computer on one side and it was surrounded by books, papers, and a ton of miniatures. On the other side of the desk was a painting area, with little tiny cups of paint and a desk lamp and magnify glass. Kris inspected the cup of paint brushes and found that they were in pretty good condition. She was prone to being just as messy as Barley, so she wouldn’t judge there, but she would have given him no end of grief for misusing quality paint brushes.

On the opposite side to the bed and desk was a clunky looking TV with a video game console hooked up and a ugly greenish brown bean bag in front of it. The rest of the floor was covered in empty soda cans, plastic wrappers and clothes. There was a pile of dirty dishes next to the stairs. Kris was confused by a gray shiny lump by her feet, but when she nudged it she realized it was chain mail. Was it a good idea to just plop chain mail down like that? She didn’t know. 

She sniffed the air, it was very musty down here. It smelled more like the unwashed boy smell she’d unfortunately inhaled on that first day. _Yup, just think about that smell any time you start to get gushy_ , she advised herself. The door to the laundry was directly to the right of the stairs. It was a standard basement laundry room, concrete floor and all. There was also a bathroom sink and a toilet in the corner. The washer display had weirdly medieval looking font, in fact all of the appliances, labels and signs she’d noticed had that look. It was oddly charming now that she was slowly getting used to being in this world. She set her clothes washing and went back upstairs. 

She was back to feeling listless. On a whim she went out of the back door to their backyard. She was kind of curious to see where she’d come into this world. She saw the pile of tires first. _Yup it would definitely hurt to crash into those_ , she thought. Glancing over to the left she realized they had a swimming pool. This brightened her up considerably, she loved swimming. Maybe they could pick up a bathing suit at the mall. She reconsidered though when she remembered that Laurel was being a saint for getting her clothes in general and adding to the list of expenses seemed like a dick thing to do. 

For now, she rolled up the legs of the PJs and sat on the edge of the pool with her legs dangling in. She sat quietly just pushing the water around with her toes and thinking about nothing in particular. After a while she went back inside, put her clothes in the dryer and waited for Laurel to get home. 

* * *

“You are not all that dissimilar to an elf, young lady.” The satyr doctor said after checking Kris’s vitals. Laurel had come home around 1 and they’d gone to a clinic where Kris had been put in a gown, poked, prodded, had x-rays taken and all the general medical nonsense that came with a thorough examination. Kris hated doctor’s visits… Again this world seemed remarkably similar to her own expect the nurses had been a cyclops and a troll. 

“Hooray?” Kris shrugged weakly.

“Yes, it’s good” the doctor continued. “Other than your ear shape and skin color, you’re basically the same in every way. Which means I can tell you’re in good health despite that nasty bruise on your side. We’ll need time to test your blood sample to make completely sure, but I see no reason not to say you’ll be perfectly fine.”

“Okay… good.” Kris nodded.

“I’ll let you get dressed and inform your guardian that you’re all done.”

“Thank you, doctor.” 

The satyr nodded politely and left the room. 

Kris put on her clothes and made her way to the waiting room where Laurel was. 

“I got the all clear,” Kris said.

“Thank heavens!” Laurel beamed at her.

“They seemed incredibly chill about the whole, me not being a species from this dimension… thing.”

“Well several months ago my sons tore apart an entire school with an ancient curse, so I think you’re pretty low of the list of weird things happening. Besides, you don’t look very alien at all.” 

Kris’s mouth flattened and her brow furrowed. Then a thought hit her, “Oh, I’m not on any kind of insurance or have any records at all, the bill is gonna be huge, I can’t let you pay for this… but I don’t know how I would either…”

“Insurance? Bill? Honey, you don’t pay for basic medical care, that’s just silly.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kris starts to settle in and Barley gets trapped into spending time with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was before I knew about the Labyrinth Mall, otherwise I probably would have tried to work that setting in. For now I'm too lazy to re-write it. Maybe one day.

Finally the week end came and Kris was excited to finally have at least one more set of clothes. Barley and Ian decided to tag along since there was a new video game coming out and both of them wanted to check it out. 

They all piled into Laurel’s tiny hatch back. Barley had called shot gun since his mom had refused to let him drive them in Guinevere the Second. Kris and Ian sat in the back seat. Ian didn’t seem as shy around her as when they were first introduced, but he still looked like he felt extremely guilty about opening up the portal. Kris felt like she should let him know that she didn’t feel like it was his fault. Although talking to him was strange. His personality wasn’t like her little sister’s at all and yet he strongly reminded Kris of her. She chalked it up to little sibling energy. For this reason though it made it hard to start a conversation with him without feeling immense grief for her own family. Which would make him feel more guilty. 

Once at the mall, Barley and Ian peeled off on their own and Laurel lead Kris to a women’s clothing store. 

“First things first, I’m sure you’re dying for one more pair of underwear,” Laurel said looking back at Kris. 

“Oh my god, yeeessss,” Kris groaned. She wanted to burn the pair she had on even though she’d washed them twice since getting here. 

“Now to lay some ground rules, I’m not going to set a budget, but please try to stay reasonable. I’m not buying you 500 gold shoes.”

“I don’t like shoes anyway.” 

“Works for me,” Laurel smiled as they came into the lingerie department. 

At first Kris tried to be as frugal as possible, reaching for a bulk bag of plain white undies, but Laurel practically slapped them out of her hand. “I said reasonable not depressing,” she chided. 

Soon she had Kris picking out from the cute underwear selections, the kind with lace and cute little patterns on the butt. Kris soon realized that Laurel was having way too much fun shopping for her. She was pulling out thongs and tissue paper like garments and throwing them at Kris. The store clerk was making eyes at them as Laurel pelted Kris and Kris could be nothing but wheeze laugh. 

After she got a week’s supply of bottoms, they went for bras. Kris was nervous about this, at least in her world, a good bra was expensive and her bust needed support. Laurel was similar in frame however and she knew the score instantly. 

“You can get three really good bras, don’t worry about the price, just find things that feel comfortable and keep your puppies happy.” 

Kris was pleasantly surprised by the selection. Since there were so many more species to cater to in this world, the range of sizes was vast. She got a light pink one that had a cute stripe pattern, a black one with lace around the edges and she even found a bra that crossed in the back and hooked in the front. She loved that kind of bra, but had never been able to find them easily before. 

Once she was done with that, she picked out some sleep wear too. A pair of booty shorts and a tank top. She confessed to Laurel that she preferred to sleep naked, but Laurel shook her head and said “not with my boys around.” Which made total sense and Kris felt stupid for not thinking of that. She was too used to living with just her mom and sister and once she'd moved out to college, she'd only had female room mates as well. 

At last they got to the actual clothes and this is where Laurel went bananas. She was picking out way too many clothes for Kris. Dresses and pants and tops were piling higher and higher in the dressing room. Kris had the realization that Laurel didn’t have a daughter and this was probably the closest she was ever going to come to shopping for one. The thought made her tear up a bit, mostly thinking about her own mom and how they’d go shopping. Her mom would pick out something that Kris hated, but insisted that she try it on anyway and then inevitably it would be too small. Her mom would die laughing before she could get the damn thing off. Kris had to take a moment to breath to let the feeling of grief pass. She was getting too used to repressing these feelings. 

After talking Laurel out of buying way too much Kris ended up with two pairs of jeans, one flowy skirt, three sun dresses, two cardigans, three tank tops, three long sleeve shirts, and a pair of sweat pants. Kris decided not to bring up the idea of a swim suit, not because she didn’t think Laurel wouldn’t get one, but because she’d probably end up with three of them some how. 

Laurel also insisted that Kris get some shoes that weren’t heavy winter boots. Kris was happy with a plain pair of sneakers, but Laurel also made her get a pair of strappy sandals. At the end of it, Kris was certain her new guardian had spent a very large chunk of change on her, but Laurel seemed almost more thrilled with the haul than Kris was. She made Kris go into a bathroom and change into one of the dresses, along with her new sandals and cardigan. 

When Kris emerged, Laurel clapped her hands in satisfaction. “You look so pretty! Oo! Maybe I can find some dress patterns and make some more for you!”

Kris blushed, “you’ve done more than enough, really.”

“Oh, let me have some fun! The only clothes I’ve made for years have been Barley’s little historical outfits.”

Kris smirked at that. _What a dork_ , she thought fondly. And then had to repress that feeling too. 

“Come on, I told the boys we’d meet them at the food court, they’re probably already waiting for us.” 

* * * 

“I’m just saying it doesn’t seem as fun as the last game. The fighting mechanics were way more fine tuned in the old version.”

“You’re just mad because I beat you in the demo match,” Ian sneered at his brother. 

Barley and Ian were sharing a plate of fries in the food court after they’d messed around in the video game shop for a good hour. They’d gotten griffin burgers as well, but those were long gone. 

“What do you think is taking them so long?” Ian mused.

Barley wanted to say something clever, but honestly he had no idea. He just shrugged. 

“Do you know how long Kris will be staying with us?” Ian continued.

Barley hadn’t even really thought about that. She obviously couldn’t stay with them forever but where would she go? What if she moved far away for whatever reason and he never saw her again? “I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. 

“Did you find anything about opening up her portal again? Where did you get that spell in the first place?”

Boy, his brother was full of questions today. “I may have found it wedged in between some old books at the library,” he admitted with chagrin.

“Did you even know if it was going to work or not?” Ian scoffed.

“Nope.” 

“So it was just a loose spell not attached to any kind of source and you thought it would be a good idea to do it anyway?” 

“I don’t see why you’re surprised by this.”

Ian rolled his eyes. 

“There they are!” the brothers looked over to the sound of their mother’s voice. Laurel and Kris approached, both carrying multiple shopping bags. Kris was in new clothes, a red sun dress with little flowers on it and a cardigan, her long brown hair draped in front of her shoulder. She looked… really pretty. The clothes she’d come through the portal in had been for cold weather and baggy, the dress showed off her figure which was plump and full. Barley could see her hips sway as the dress rippled around it, and the neckline was… lower. He was in trouble. 

The women joined them at the table, setting the bags next to the fries. Laurel took the seat next to Barley, so Kris sat next to Ian. She gave him a cautious smile and tucked her hair behind her ear. Ian didn’t seem to be unnerved by the new outfit as Barley was and instead he gawked at the amount of bags. 

“Chantar’s Talon, Mom! How many clothes did you get?”

“Oh, it’s not that many!” Laurel waved the concern away. “She had zero clothes to start, so this is not that bad.”

“Yeah, no, believe me, your mom would have gotten even more if I hadn’t reigned her in,” Kris said with a disbelieving grin. She seemed more comfortable with herself now, she sat up straighter and her smile wasn’t strained. Had her eyelashes always been that long? Had her mouth always looked so tempting? Barley shook his head, but his eyes landed on one of the shopping bags that had a clear logo for a popular lingerie store. He darted his gaze back to the fries and started eating them one by one even though they were cold. 

“I see you boys have already eaten,” Laurel sighed. She had asked for them to eat together but her and Kris had taken so long that the brothers had given up on waiting. “I guess we can get something to go, what would you like, hon?” She addressed Kris. 

Kris glanced around the food court and shrugged. “I’d be good with a smoothie.”

“Oh, that does sound good! Let’s go, you boys watch the bags.” 

As they left Ian turned to his brother, “Barley, are you okay?” he asked with an amused tone.

“Yeah, fine, why?” Barley relaxed a little and nonchalantly popped another fry in his mouth. 

“I have never seen you nervous around a girl before, or a boy.”

“What? I’m not nervous, why would I be nervous?” 

“That’s why I’m asking. If you like her, why wouldn’t you ask her out? You’re great at that. Sometimes too great.”

“Well I’m not saying I do like her,” Barley clarified, “but if I did find her attractive it would be more complicated than usual because she… ya know. Lives with us.” 

Ian squinted at him and seemed unconvinced. 

“I barely know her!” Barley hiss whispered.

“When has that ever stopped you?” Ian whispered back.

“You have to agree it’s a bad idea to start something with a stranger who lives with us. What if it goes badly?”

“Oh, I agree it’s a really bad idea, but again when has that ever to stopped you.”

“Well, it’s stopping me this time. O-or it would if I actually liked her, which I don’t.” 

“Sure,” Ian picked up his soda and took a long sip out of it while giving Barley a deadpan look. 

“Please don’t say anything…” he sighed.

“My lips are sealed,” Ian put up his hands in surrender. 

* * *

Within the next few weeks Kris fell into a weird kind of routine. The couch wasn’t the best spot for her, so Laurel made Barley dig out an old air mattress from the attic and they set it up in Laurel’s sewing room. It was upstairs sandwiched between Ian’s and Laurel and Colt’s bedrooms. Kris still didn’t feel like she belonged in the house, but it was nice to have a room that could shut when she went to sleep. The nights were the hardest and she was grateful she had a little privacy in the wee hours of the night when she couldn’t sleep. She had taken to having a towel with her in bed so that she didn’t soak her pillow through every night. 

About three times now she’d woken up in the dead of night and no matter what couldn’t get back to sleep. So she’d ended up doing something a little stupid and skinny dipped in the pool. The first time she hadn’t meant to actually skinny dip. She had just wanted some fresh air. Stepping into the backyard she instantly noticed that the neighborhood was dead silent and the night sky was the most spectacular thing she’d ever seen. The sky was full of purples and deep blues and painted with innumerable clouds of stars, it was breath taking. She suddenly felt at peace for the first time since getting here. She glanced over at the pool and contemplated how lovely it would be to just float on her back and look up at the stars. She cautiously looked around to see if any lights were on at all. She prayed that nobody would see her and then said fuck it. That first time she hadn’t thought about her hair getting wet however, and she had to suffer the consequences for the rest of the night until she could take a shower at a reasonable time. 

During the day she could keep busy enough, she’d help around the house when she could and take walks around the neighborhood. She’d bring her sketchbook and do little studies out in the fresh air. Sometimes she’d walk to the cliff sides and see mermaids down in the sea. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to the sensation of seeing mythical creatures just existing in front of her. She found it hilarious that unicorns were akin to raccoons here. Barley explained that they had used to be majestic creatures but as civilization grew they turned into scavengers. 

On the subject of Barley, he seemed to disappear most the time. He was still super friendly and nice to her, but he really wasn’t around during the day anymore. Kris kind of wondered where he went. 

Ian seemed to have warmed up to her though. He’d ask her questions about her world. When she off-handedly mentioned space travel, he got really interested. Unfortunately, Kris didn’t know much but the basics. One evening after dinner he asked about the laptop in her backpack.

“I know it was nosy, but we kind of looked through it when you first got here,” he confessed. Kris honestly didn’t really mind, but she hadn’t touched her phone or laptop since coming here. It felt too painful? Was that the right emotion? To look at a reminder of home. She did desperately miss listening to her music though. Her worry was that the laptop would die and she wouldn’t have any way to charge it, so she figured why bother if she couldn’t keep it going? Listening to something familiar could also bring waves of sorrow she couldn’t ignore. 

Since Ian asked to see it though, she went and brought it out. She brought the charging cable too, just in case. Ian seemed smart with computers, maybe he had a solution to the problem. He took it eagerly and scanned the whole outside, running his palms over it, before opening up the screen. 

“I’m afraid of using it because once it runs out of battery I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to charge it again.” She explained.

Ian looked over the charging cable and shrugged. “Only one way to find out, I guess.” And he plugged the cable into a wall socket. Kris was expecting some kind of sparks to happen or her computer to blow up, but nothing. In fact the charging light on her computer turned on. Maybe she was over thinking this whole completely new dimension thing but it seemed oddly convenient that the power output would be the exact same as in her world and from her specific country no less. She pressed the power button and was amazed to see it blink to life. 

“Whoa…” Ian leaned into the screen as her desktop popped up. “All of this looks super close to my computer but all the names and icons are different. This is like looking in a fun house mirror.”

“You’re telling me…” Kris said dryly. 

“What’s your browser called?”

“I’ve got two, either Chrome or Firefox is fine.”

“Heh, we’ve got Luster and Firebird.” Ian made a few clicks and a browser showed up. Unsurprisingly there was no internet connection. “Let’s see if this even works…” Kris watched him open up her wi-fi and scanned for networks. Amazingly it worked, the Lightfoot Household wi-fi came up and Ian put in the password and it connected. When the browser refreshed it still wasn’t working though. 

“I think it’s trying to connect to Google…” she sighed. 

“Connect to what now?”

“Google, it’s a search engine.”

“Oh, we just have AskWizard,” Ian typed it in and the website actually loaded, but it took a while and the site was… janky. A lot of the pictures didn’t load and some of the text was weirdly shifted. “I guess you won’t really be able to access the internet with this, but it’s still cool that it kinda works.”

“What kinda works?” Barley came around the corner with a jar of jelly he was sticking his fingers in. 

“Kris’s internet browser, her computer can work, see?”

“Whoa, cool! What else you got on here?” Barley sucked the jelly off his fingers quickly and put the jar down on the table. 

“Mainly I use my computer for listening to music and drawing,” Kris answered.

“You can draw on the computer?” Ian asked, clearly interested. 

“Yeah, I’ve got a drawing tablet I hook up and I draw right on the screen.” 

Both of the Lightfoot brothers’ eyes widened. “Show us your drawings!” Barley insisted.

Kris gave a short laugh and motioned for Ian to get out of the chair. She took his spot and opened up her Photoshop files. She had some really old art on here that was cringey, but the newer stuff she was proud of. She opened up a detailed illustration she’d done of a dragon in a waterfall. 

She could feel Barley edge out his brother and hover over her, he leaned in so close, she could feel his body heat on the top of her head. “I thought your sketchbook was good, but this… WOW! Holy shit, you’re incredible!”

“Barley let me see!” Ian complained. Barley wasn’t moving though, he reached over her to the track pad to scroll through more. Kris had to suck in to make sure he didn’t graze her boobs. He clicked through her portfolio with growing excitement. “You’re better than most Quests of Yore illustrations! This is beyond professional looking!” 

“Thanks,” Kris said shyly. She knew she was good, she had just always been bad at receiving praise.

“This one is so fucking rad…” Barley had stopped on a Silmarillion illustration she’d done for fun.

“That’s the planting of the two trees of Valinor, Laurelin and Telperion,” she said wistfully. She was practicality proud of how Nienna’s face had turned out. Both regal and extremely sorrowful at the same time as her tears watered the trees. 

“Is that part of your world’s history?” Ian asked.

“No!” Kris chuckled. “No, it’s a history all right, but a made up one. An author named J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a series of fictional books called the Lord of the Rings and he got so entrenched in the world building that he wrote an entire history of the world the books take place in. The history is called the Silmarillion. It’s super dense but there’s some really beautiful imagery. I’m a huge fan of Tolkien…” 

“Is he super popular in your world?” Ian asked again.

“Yeah? His first book the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings were huge like… 60 years ago. They made movies out of them since and I’d say they’re more popular than the books are. Honestly, it’s more popular in nerd culture than mainstream pop culture. The Silmarillion is really only for hardcore fans.” 

“Wow, you might be worse than Barley…” Ian mused. 

“Thank… you?” Kris frowned slightly. Barley was still glued to the screen, he kept getting closer and the top of his chest was hitting the back of her head now. 

“I’m gonna leave you two super nerds alone now,” Ian said with a tinge of amusement in his voice. That seemed to pull Barley out of it and he backed away from the computer. 

"No, that’s okay, I’ve got like, stuff to do.” He coughed. There was an awkward pause as he continued to stand there. “But like who and why is the lady crying on the trees?”

“Oh, that’s Nienna, she’s one of the Valar, the highest order of Ainur who sang the world into being. She weeps eternally and turns grief into wisdom.” 

Kris watched as Barley’s eyes widened and he bit his lip, “…that sounds really fucking cool.” He whispered. 

“Right?” Kris brightened, “Nienna has always been one of my favorite Valar because her dominion is super unique. Most people don’t even get into this stuff because it’s so dense, but I’ve always been fascinated with it. Everything in Lord of the Rings has a purpose for being there, all the history is there if you look, down to the languages they speak! I actually have all of the movies on my computer-” Kris internalized what she said as she said it. Like the constant emotional mess she was these days, the comfort of having some of her favorite movies of all time still with her filled her with joyous relief. She hadn’t really thought about what having her computer working would mean. She bit back tears as the surge of emotion hit her. Why did she literally always cry in front of Barley? 

“You okay?” Ian asked on her left. 

“Heh, yeah, yeah I’m really good actually. I just didn’t realize how big of a deal it would be to me to have a connection to home. They’re in my top favorite movies and it just…” she sniffed. “It feels really good that I haven’t lost them.” She wiped a stray tear off quickly. 

“Could we watch one now?” Ian asked, he seemed weirdly eager and he kept looking over at his brother.

“Uhhhh, well there are three movies in total, all different parts of the same story and they are insanely long. Like three hours, four hours each. If you guys want to watch them we’d have to set some time aside.” 

“We could do it this weekend, you don’t have a campaign on Sunday, right Barley?” 

Kris looked over at the older brother. He looked like a deer trapped in the headlights. “No, Ian, I do not.” He replied stiffly. 

“Great! We can order pizza and stuff.” 

“Don’t you have homework, Ian?” Kris asked. She specifically remembered overhearing him talking about a huge group project he needed to get done over the weekend. 

“Oh! Darn! Yes I do, I guess it’ll just have to be you and Barley then.”

Kris frowned up at him, he was up to something. He wasn’t even kind of being subtle. She looked over at Barley and he looked very uncomfortable. Did he not want to watch the movies? That was fine if he didn’t. 

“If you don’t want to watch them, that’s fine.” She said.

“Oh come on, Barley! A movie from another dimension! That’s about… what’s it about?” Ian was really trying too hard here.

“An epic quest to destroy the One Ring, the root of power of the Dark Lord Sauron.”

“Are there big battles?” Ian ventured.

“Many.”

“Grand feats of bravery?”

“Definitely.”

“A journey fraught with peril?”

“Yup.”

“Come on, that sounds perrfect for you!” Ian turned to his brother with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

Barley looked like he wanted to punch him. “Yup, sure does.” He said this through clenched teeth. 

“Dude, you look uncomfortable. It’s totally fine if you want to say no. It’s not going to hurt my feelings.” She didn’t know what sibling thing was happening between the two of them, but Kris wasn’t going to force Barley to watch something he didn’t want to. 

Barley puffed out a breath and his shoulder slumped, “No, that really does sound awesome, I’d love to.”

“You sure?”

“Totally,” he seemed resigned to whatever trap his brother had laid for him. Kris would have to figure it out later. 

* * *

Kris was so jazzed about having her computer in working order that she couldn’t sleep at all. She’d listened to her music for hours with her headphones as she lay on the air mattress. She couldn’t stop crying from happiness. Her ears were getting sore from the headphones though, so she decided to stop of the night, but she was still so full of giddy energy. How late was it? Could she go for a swim yet? That would help calm her down. 

She quickly put her hair up in a messy bun and peaked out into the hall. It definitely seemed late enough in the evening. She tip toed silently down the stairs, she’d figured out where the squeaky parts of the steps were and could avoid them. She made it outside without waking up Blazey and took a deep breathe of the night air. The moons are full tonight and the neighborhood looked eerily still in their light. She walked to the pool and pulled off her tank top and wriggling out of her shorts. Stepping into the water was always the hardest part because it was so cold to start. She eased herself in, giggling at the sensation of brisk water of her bare skin. She got about waist deep and stopped to look up at the sky. It really was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. If there was one good thing about this, it was being able to see an alien night sky. She sighed with contentment and skimmed her hands on the water’s surface. 

A song she’d just listen to came to her mind and she let the words come out of her mouth. She had used to love to sing:

“Let’s go in the garden… You’ll find something waiting,   
right there where you left it, laying upside down…   
When you finally find it, you’ll see how it’s faded,   
the underside is lighter when you turn it around…  
Everything stays right where you left it  
Everything stays, but it’s still changes  
Ever so slightly, daily and nightly, in little ways  
When everything stays…”

She took a big deep breathe and exhaled, relaxing into the water and she swam back and forth in lazy arches for quite a while. When she finally got out of the pool, her fingers were pruny. She felt significantly calmer though and let herself air dry a bit before slipping her sleep wear back on and returning to the house. It was quiet as ever, but she noticed Blazey had gotten up at some point during her swim. She couldn’t see the dragon anywhere. Oh well. Kris crept back upstairs and when she sunk into bed she fell asleep almost instantly. It was the best sleep she’d had since before she’d ended up in this place. 

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barley gets a surprise.
> 
> It gets a baby bit horny in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not a slow burn romance, by the way. I do not have the patience to write that.

Barley was going to kill Ian. Hadn’t they both agreed it was a really bad idea for him to start something with Kris? Or maybe Ian just really liked seeing his brother be the one to squirm over a romantic interest for once. Barley had stayed up stewing about it and still didn’t feel like sleeping, he was too full of anxiety. He needed a snack. 

He went upstairs into the kitchen, not bothering with the lights. He knew there was a box of cookies in one of the cupboards. He pulled them out and started stuffing his face and paced a bit before his eyes caught movement in the kitchen window. 

Kris was outside, but why? Barley was about to call to her through the open screen, but then she whipped off her tank top in the blink of an eye. Barley choked on a cookie and covered his mouth with his arm so he wouldn’t spew it everywhere. What was she doing? She took her shorts off next, holy hell… She walked into the pool slowly. Barley could hear her giggle as the water touched her skin. Was she skinny dipping in the middle of the night? 

She stopped when the water came up to her waist and stared up at the sky. She had put her hair up and in the bright moonlight, Barley could see a tattoo on her left shoulder. It was a dragon perched in a coiled position with large wings swooping up her shoulder. Of course she had a dragon tattoo. The rest of her was sheer perfection in Barley’s eyes. Perfectly smooth skin with large soft curves that plunged in and out. He couldn’t help thinking about what her skin would feel like against his mouth. 

She started to sing then, her voice was shaky at first but grew in confidence. She didn’t sound perfect, but it was sweet and she carried the tune well. Her body rocked as she sang and he was mesmerized by her hips swaying back and forth in the water. He could feel every muscle in his body tense up and soon his heartbeat was pounding in his ears. He couldn’t look away.

Kris’s song was short and when she finished she dipped down into the pool and started swimming around looking completely carefree and happy. She continued to hum as she swam. 

Terrified of making any noise himself, Barley pivoted and shuffled back to his room. He vaguely realized later that he’d knocked Blazey’s bed on his way and had heard the dragon skitter away. Once he got back down to the safety of his room, he noticed he’d crushed the cookie box in his hand. He also still had a mouthful of cookie but when he tried to swallow his mouth was dry. He was forced to find an old soda can that still had a few gulps in it to wash it down. Stale soda and chocolate chip cookies didn’t go very well together. He threw the crushed box of cookies away. 

In a brief flash of paranoia he turned all his lights off before remembering he didn’t have a window and there was no way Kris could know he was awake. He tried to calm himself down by taking deep breaths and think about anything other than what he’d just seen. He undressed and flopped on his bed, shutting his eyes tight and trying to think about not thinking about Kris. He soon failed.

The sound of her giggle and the sight of her naked body in the moonlight consumed him. What if that giggle could be for him? What would it be like to run his hands over the deep curves of her body and have her lean into his. To kiss her shoulders as she sang softly and she’d press herself into him. He’d make her sigh and moan against him, using his tongue and hands. And when he finally couldn’t take it anymore, he’d prop her up against the edge of the pool and slide into her. He wanted her thighs to grip him tightly and her fingernails to dig into the back of his neck. He wanted to hear her whimper his name. 

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He stared into the darkness, not seeing anything except the images his brain was making him replay over and over. Barley was not used to pining. If he liked someone, he told them. He’d never experienced anxious nights of worrying about a romance that could or could not exist. It had always been a black and white issue before. If they liked him back, great! If not, oh well better luck next time. Simple. There was nothing simple about Kris. 

She was the first person he’d ever met that made him feel nervous. The first person where the thought of her rejection was almost unbearable. She was smart, she was passionate and she was talented as fuck. Barley felt completely out of her league. Not to mention all the added complications of her being here in the first place. 

He didn’t know how long he was stuck awake staring into nothing, but he didn’t remember falling asleep.

* * *

When Kris woke up, she felt rejuvenated. It was amazing what a good night sleep could do, not to mention the huge emotional morale boost of having her computer. She felt a little stupid that she hadn’t tried to use it before, but it didn’t matter now. 

She got dressed but realized her week’s worth of underwear was almost up, she’d have to do laundry today. Heading down stairs it looked like everybody else had left for the day. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was late morning. It didn’t surprise her that she’s slept in, she had barely been sleeping before last night and she was sure her body had needed the rest. 

She felt energized and decided to make some pancakes for herself. Kris had become somewhat comfortable in the Lightfoot kitchen. Some of the food in this dimension was either identical to hers or just slightly different, but there were other big differences. Like griffin meat… Kris was still unsettled by that. She made her pancakes but like every time she made food she inevitably made too much. Luckily Ian or Barley were sure to finish them off later. 

After she ate, she still felt like cooking so she decided to make some cookies. She hadn’t tried baking here yet, but she’d been curious how it would go. Were cockatrice eggs super different from chicken eggs? She couldn’t find a recipe book so she just kind of made up a cookie recipe off her own knowledge. She also remembered they were basically at sea level here and the baking time would be a lot shorter than it would be at home in the mountains. As the cookies were baking, she cleaned the dishes and decided to do a wipe down of the whole kitchen just because she could. She also swept and mopped the floor. The cookies came out looking okay, they smelled like cookies at least. 

Next she needed to do her laundry, so she got her clothes and went down the stairs through Barley’s room. She was caught off guard though when Barley was still very much still in his room. She had thought she was alone in the house. He was dead asleep, his head at the very corner of the bed, almost hanging off of it and Kris could see a little puddle of drool. He was on his stomach in an awkward diagonal line, his arms flopping over the sides of the bed. It looked like he’d kicked any blankets he might have had off onto the floor. Also he was naked. Well… almost naked, he had boxer shorts on. 

Sometimes Kris forgot just how big Barley was, but it was impossible to forget now. It was a queen bed and the guy took up a large chunk of it and not all of his body was even on it. His head was facing her and she could clearly see the broadness of his shoulders and back. She remembered back to that first awful day when he’d calmed her down and how close their faces had been. He’d had freckles on his cheeks. His back was similar with a smattering of moles here and there. Kris bit her lip as the thought of running her hands up that back again, but this time without a shirt in the way. He looked so soft laying there, but she knew if he moved she’d see his back muscles flex. Soft and strong, it was a deadly combination for her. She could see his hair without the beanie in the way too and she longed to pull her fingers through it and pull him close to her. How the hell had she ended up living next to a hot elf man? What was her life now…

Barley grunted and Kris nearly jumped out of her skin. She’d totally zoned out and had just stood there staring like an idiot for who knows how long. Oh god, what if he woke up? She rushed to the laundry room and quickly put her things in and tried to be as quiet as possible. The laundry machine was under no such pretense however and as it beeped to life, Kris prayed Barley was a sound sleeper. She assumed he was. She crept back into his room and didn’t even dare look at him again in case she got distracted. With her luck he’d open his eyes at that exact moment and then she’d feel like even more of a creep. 

She tip toed up the stairs and went past the door as fast as she could. Once it was closed behind her, she let out a sigh of relief and then decided she needed to scrub the entire upstairs bathroom. 

* * * 

The sound of a door shutting woke him up. He jerked his head up and realized he’d created a massive pool of drool. He rolled and sat up, feeling heavy and slow. What time had it been when he’d finally gotten to sleep? 4 am? 5? What time was it now? He wiped the sleep from his eyes and shook out his head. His brain felt like a blob of fuzzy pudding. As he slowly gained consciousness he heard the washing machine running in the other room. Was his mom home? What day was it?

He pulled on a shirt and a pair of shorts, not bothering with the rest of his clothes. He used the toilet in the half bathroom that was in the laundry room and made his groggy way upstairs. When he opened the door, the smell of freshly baked cookies assaulted his nose. Why did that smell make him feel uncomfortable and horny all of a sudden? Oh right… How was he supposed to live with this forbidden desire stuck in his brain? He wished he could just forget what he’d seen. Was there a spell to do that? Please let there be a spell to do that. 

He trudged over to the kitchen and saw that the cookies were very fresh, still on the baking sheet. They looked a helluva lot better than the stale box ones he’d had last night. Mom wasn't exactly a baker, she'd do it every once and while but it wasn't a normal occurrence. He picked up a cookie and it was still very warm from the oven, he fumbled with it as his fingers burned and shoved the whole thing in his mouth. It was a bit too hot too eat as well but it tasted glorious. “Holy shit that’s good,” he mumbled with his mouth full. 

“Oh cool, you’re up,” Kris’s voice said slightly breathlessly behind him. He whipped around trying to swallow the cookie but it was gooey and coated his mouth. 

“Mmph,” he grunted.

Kris was wearing a tank top and sweat pants, her hair still up in a bun. She had cleaning gloves on and her face was flushed. Barley’s stomach filled with butterflies as he saw her and he had to turn his attention to something else. He realized where the cookies might have come from. “Hrm?” He pointed to the tray in a questioning way as he managed to gulp down the last of the cookie. “Uh, you make these?”

“Oh! Yeah, I just made them. I didn’t have a recipe so I improvised one, are they any good?” she seemed skeptical of her own skill.

“Extremely.”

“Hooray! Now, do you know where I can find a sponge?” She lifted up her gloved hands and wiggled her fingers. Kris’s energy level seemed to be threw the roof today. She looked more alert and clear eyed than he’d ever seen her. Barley on the other hand felt like he was walking through a bog. A deep bog full of snakes. 

“Nuh-uh,” he mumbled and shook his head. 

“Bummer… I’ll try to find some on my own. Are you feeling okay?”

“Um…” Barley coughed. “I’m just really tired is all, didn’t sleep much.” _Because I couldn’t stop picturing you naked… because you were naked last night, in my backyard… I want to die…_ Barley had never felt more awkward. He suddenly sympathized a lot more with Ian. 

“Oh, that’s too bad… do you have to do anything today or can you just go nap of something?”

“I dunno if a nap would help…”

“Don’t want to fuck up your sleep cycle?”

“Sure don’t…” 

“Well I’m kind of on a cleaning spree and I usually like to blast music while I do it, but I don’t want to bug you.” 

“Cleaning spree?”

“Yeah, I slept amazingly last night for like the first time in months and I’m kinda riding a high. Plus your brother getting my laptop going has kind of been an emotional god send for me. I missed my music so fucking much. I’m SUPER excited to watch Lord of the Rings by the way, they’ve always been comfort movies for me and I think you’ll really like them too. But anyway I figured since I’ve got all this energy and your mom has been ridiculously kind to me, I’ve decided to clean the whole house. Well… not the _whole_ house, but like common areas and stuff. Ah HA!”

While Kris was talking a mile a minute, she’d moved around Barley and started going through the cupboards under the kitchen sink. She’d rummaged around, pulling out cleaning supplies until she’d found a bag of sponges. 

She seemed to have even more energy than the time she met Blazey. Barley felt a strong pull to be close to her, to watch her be this excited. Seeing her happy opened up a feeling inside of him like a sunbeam on a cloudy day. If he was being completely honest with himself, he wanted to grab her by the waist, plop her on the counter and kiss her senseless. The urge was so strong he knew he needed to get out of there. 

“I have to leave,” was all he could blurt out before bolting for the door with his keys. It wasn’t until he hopped into Guinie 2 that he realized he didn’t have shoes on. 

* * *

Ian got out of school and was planning to take the bus but noticed his brother’s van was waiting for him in the front of the school. He hadn’t planned to do anything with Barley after school, but it wasn’t uncommon for his brother to just show up some days. When he got in the car though, something was definitely wrong. 

Barley only had a t-shirt and shorts on, no vest, beanie or even shoes. Weirdest of all was that he looked super tired and super freaked out. Had something bad happened? Was Mom okay?

“Barley, what happened?”

His brother didn’t say anything, he just stared blankly out the van window. 

“Hello? What’s going on, man?” Ian waved his hand in front of Barley’s face. He blinked and shook his head. 

“I’m…” he started but trailed off. “I don’t- the thing is- She’s just so- I can’t handle being around her. Okay?”

Ian was sure he meant Kris, but he’d never seen his brother this wigged out about anything before. Barley was unflappable, at least he had been. This was kind of unsettling. 

“Are you… mad at her or something?” Ian was certain if his brother was this shaken up something must have caused it. 

“No! I’m mad at you! You just had to stick your nose in it and put us together. I told you I didn’t want to start anything with her, but then you got her all excited about those movies and now I’m gonna feel like a jerk when I tell her I can’t do it. Because I can’t, I can’t sit with her for literally hours and not want to- you know!”

Ian balked, “Oh come on Barley, it was going to happen eventually, I know you. I figured she’d either reject you or you two could be all lovey dovey for a while and then you guys will move on, that’s always what happens when you date somebody. You’re making this into a way bigger deal than it needs to be!”

“You don’t get it! I can’t just do that with her! She’s different!”

“How?”

Barley glared at his brother, “She’s from a different dimension that WE brought her from for starters! She _LIVES_ with us? Why do I have to keep reminding you of that?”

“Do you honestly believe she’ll live with us forever if you don’t ask her out? What weird mental gymnastics are you doing? She’s a grown adult and so are you! She can move out if things go sour, and even if nothing happens she will still move out! I don’t understand why you’re acting so weird about this!”

Barley growled in his throat as he gripped the steering wheel, but didn’t respond. 

“It’s like you’re scared or something,” Ian scoffed. “Why are you scared now? It’s just a crush.”

Barley’s face tightened and then relaxed as he lowered his forehead to the steering wheel. “I’ve never liked a person as much as I like her…”

Ian sighed and decided to parrot back something his brother loved to say, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

“She’ll hate me and never want to see me again…”

“But will you _die_?” Ian emphasized. 

Barley snorted and turned his head on the wheel to look at his brother. “I don’t like being on the reverse end of this.” 

“You know I’m right.”

“Yeah, yeah…” 

There was a moment of silence and Barley didn’t seem to be spurred into action. 

“We do have to go home at some point today,” Ian said patiently.

Barley groaned and started the van. He drove them home and as soon as they got in the house Ian could hear loud rock music playing. Barley gulped and looked apprehensive. 

The sound of somebody bouncing around was coming from the living room and Kris’s voice singing along with the song. She was making the guitar sounds, she really was perfect for his brother. As they came around the corner, she turned to face them and her face was flushed and happy and her hair spilled down her shoulders. “Ian!” she rushed towards him and gave him a rib cracking hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, for making me get my computer! I can’t tell you how much I missed music!”

“Oh! Well, I didn’t really do anything, I just plugged it in, ya know… heh.” He blushed, he looked over at Barley who had the most jealous expression Ian had ever seen him wear. 

“You gave me the push to use it at least! Oh and I made pancakes this morning there’s leftovers in the fridge and I also made cookies, those are on the counter.” She smiled and laughed and turned away dancing “Hey you with the pretty face! Welcome to the human race!” she hummed and bounced away. “You doing okay Barley? You left really quickly earlier.” She glanced back at him grinning. Ian had never seen her this happy before. His brother on the other hand looked panicked.

“Fine! Yup, okay bye!” and he bolted for his room. 

Ian couldn’t help smirking. 

Kris stopped bouncing for a second and looked confused. “He’s done that twice today,” she said. “Is he actually okay?”

“I think he will be,” Ian replied, giving Kris a knowing smile that went completely over her head. 

* * * 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We in the horny shit now.

Laurel was absolutely ecstatic that Kris had cleaned the house. “Can I swap you for one of my boys?” she joked. She was even happier when Kris offered to make dinner that night too. Since she’d never it done it before though, Laurel gave some guidance on where everything in the kitchen was and how much to make. 

Barley was still acting weird at dinner, but he at least didn’t seem as freaked out as he had earlier. He was quiet now and reserved, which was super unusual for him. Even Colt asked him why he was being so quiet. He kept saying he hadn’t slept much and was very tired. There was something else though, Kris would catch him looking at her all the time and when their eyes met he’d smile a little but then look away. 

In the proceeding days Kris was coming to suspect that Barley was sweet on her. He’d stand a little too close to her, find excuses to be in the same room and if he touched her arm or shoulder his fingers would linger. All of this made Kris feel extremely dizzy and giddy. Before this tension had started Kris had had a crush on Barley. She’s kept it locked down though because he seemed uninterested in her. Now the flood gates were opening, Kris had a hard time not just confronting him and confirming her suspicions. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that they technically had a “date” to watch the Lord of the Rings. Looking back to when Ian had clearly set that up, Kris felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. 

It did nag at her a little bit that Barley had seemed resistant to the idea of them spending time alone at first. Something seemed to have changed his mind though. One morning she came downstairs to find a rose on the counter with a note. “A rose for a beautiful maiden - Barley” 

It was cheesy, but she’d never gotten a flower from a boy before. She ended up staring it for a long time, twirling it in her fingers and touching the petals. When she saw him next, she snuck up on him while he was sitting at the table and kissed him on the cheek. 

Finally Sunday came and Kris had no idea what to wear. It felt silly, but she didn’t want to look too casual, but she also didn’t want to look dressed up. She went with one of her long sleeved shirts that hung off her shoulders. It was a good balance of showing some skin but not any cleavage just in case this turned out to be in her head. She contemplated the booty shorts, but that would definitely be excessive. She didn’t want to wear jeans because that would be uncomfortable for how long the movies were. Then she remembered the flowy skirt. It was perfect, long enough to cover her legs entirely, was comfortable, and gave easy access. If things went her way they wouldn’t be watching the movie for very long. She also put on the black bra and a pair of matching panties. She didn’t know if she’d be getting some today, but she wanted to be prepared. 

Walking out of her room she ran into Barley sooner than she’d thought. He was coming out of the bathroom, his hair wet from the shower. She bit her lip, this was an excellent first sign. Barley’s cheeks darkened at the sight of her and he looked bashful. It was adorable. 

“You look very pretty today,” he said softly. 

“Thank you,” she beamed and swayed so that her skirt swished around. “Do you want to watch the Lord of the Rings today?” she asked as casually as she could. 

Barley nodded, “Yeah, umm… where should we, uh… do it.”

Kris almost gave a low laugh at the innuendo but she stopped herself. “We have to use my laptop to watch,” she was carrying it and held it up, “and the couch downstairs is kind of uncomfortable for long stretches of time so…”

“My room could work…” Barley offered a little too smoothly. Oh, she was so getting a taste of this elf boy. 

“Lead the way,” she gestured. 

When they got down to his room Kris noticed immediately that he’d straightened up. It wasn’t spotless by any means, but the trash on the floor was gone as well as the dirty dishes. His clothes were in one pile near his closet instead of all over and there was even a blanket and pillows on his bed. He had sprayed some kind of air freshener as well. Kris was starting to feel very confident about how this day would go. 

“Uh, so I guess you can take the bed and I can be on the bean bag,” Barley suggested. 

“Or we can both be on the bed,” Kris countered.

Barley gulped, “Yeah, we could do that…” 

Kris put the laptop near the edge of the bed and plugged in the power cable before handing it to Barley to plug into the wall. She turned the computer on and pulled up her media files. The funny thing was, she really did want Barley to watch these movies with her, she just didn’t think they were going to make it in one go. 

She turned the volume all the way up and looked up at Barley. He was still standing next to the bed. He looked very nervous. 

“You ready?” she asked smiling up at him in a way she totally intended to be suggestive. He nodded without looking at her and scooted onto the bed, he slid himself towards the back corner. Kris couldn’t tell if he was just shy, or maybe she was reading all the wrong signals. She pressed play, made sure it was on full screen and slid back towards Barley. She gestured for a pillow and he gave her one. She put it behind her back and against the wall. She then pulled her hair to one side so that a bare shoulder was facing Barley and crossed her legs. Her true genius was that she’d angled the screen so that Barley would have to come closer to her to see it. He did so, skooching tentatively forward. They were millimeters from touching. 

As amped up as her body was for the potential of physical contact, Kris couldn’t help feel a wave of warmth and nostalgia at the sound of Kate Blanchett’s voice. She couldn’t help mouthing the words. When the titled screen came on and the leitmotif and the One Ring swelled in the soundtrack she closed her eyes and sighed with contentment. Maybe they would just watch the movies and that could be fun too. 

“You’re beautiful when you’re happy,” Barley said suddenly. Kris glanced up and noticed he wasn’t looking at the screen at all. “I mean…” he flushed. “You’re beautiful all the time, but especially right now.”

Okay she wasn’t waiting anymore. She turned to him and snaked her arm up behind his neck. She pressed her breasts up against his chest and her other hand slid under his vest. She put her face very close to his but didn’t kiss him, just in case. She shouldn’t have worried, because his arm wrapped around her hips and his other hand came up to her cheek and jawline. They stared at each for a second, noses touching and lips parted. Kris kissed him first, softly and teasing. His lips followed hers and soon they were in a rhythm of small tender kisses. Their lips getting to know each other. She pushed her fingers up into his hair. It was still damp but so soft. He groaned and Kris’s whole body shivered at the sound. She opened up her mouth more and Barley’s tongue moved in. Her own met his and their kiss deepened before she pulled back a little. Her head was reeling and she couldn’t help but giggle. He smiled too and went in for more kisses but Kris stopped him by moving. He looked confused for a split second until he realized she was straddling him. She pushed his vest out with her hands and hovered her face above his. 

“Whenever I’m physical with someone I like to be clear with my intentions,” she said. 

“Good plan,” Barley breathed, he seemed very flustered that she was this forward. 

“I want you, I’ve wanted you since I met you and if you want to as well I’d really like to-”

“Yes,” he agreed and kissed her hard on the mouth. His hands went to firmly grip her thighs and ass and Kris desperately wanted them to not be wearing clothes anymore. Their kiss ended with a smack and she pulled back to whip off her shirt. The black bra really did make her tits look amazing and Barley gave a moaning exhale at the sight of them. “Ah fuck…” 

“Clothes off,” Kris instructed, and pulled at the vest. Barley grunted as he leaned forward to wriggle out of the vest, but this also planted his face in her cleavage. She giggled and pressed his face in, he responded but licking her skin up to her collar bone. She shivered in pleasure and then pulled at his t-shirt. He let her pull it all the way off and he was finally shirtless. Kris undid her bra and pulled that off as well and her breasts spilled onto his chest and the sensation was glorious. She let her body slid down his chest and she widened her hips and pressed down unto him. Her pussy was throbbing and it met the bulge in his pants eagerly. She grinded up against him and moaned. 

“Ha…” Barley panted as he took in her bare breasts, “I didn’t know you’d be so…” he swallowed as she rolled her hips forward. He pressed up on her as well. “Fuck I can’t think straight,” he breathed. 

“That’s kind of the point,” she teased and kissed him on the mouth. 

“Mmmm,” he sighed and moved his kiss down to her throat. Kris’s eyes fluttered at the touch. Her nose grazed his ear and she had a weird moment of clarity and realization that she was about to fuck a blue elf. The absurdity of the moment made a sharp laugh erupt out of her. 

“What?” Barley pulled back to look up at her. 

“Nothing, I’m just having a good time,” she moved her hands up to his face. “Also,” she said coyly “I’ve been secretly wondering if these are an erogenous zone.” She slid her hands up along his ears, rubbing her thumbs against them in little circles. Barley’s eyes rolled back a bit and his mouth hung open, “I didn’t think they were before you did that,” he shuddered. 

She got to the tips and put them between her index and middle fingers and caressed them coming down. She hadn’t thought they’d be this fun to play with. He responded by slipping his hand under her skirt and snaking it up and over her thigh and trailing his fingers up against her panties. Her body tensed at his touch, it was so gentle but the sensation was so sharply arousing she whimpered. 

“Fuck, I like that noise,” he sighed kissed her neck and moved his hand so more fingers could tease her. Kris had had the upper hand before, but now all she could do was shiver and pant and let his fingers drove her slowly insane. Barley seemed to sense this as he whispered in her ear. “I want you to flip around.” 

She obeyed and he held her up against him and moved his hand under her skirt again. Her legs were already spread wide for him to do whatever he wanted. He teased her by rubbing her panties a bit more but soon pulled them to the side run a finger along her slick slit. 

“I’m going to make you come as many times as you want,” he breathed into her ear. Kris could only nod as he massaged her lips apart. One of her hands held onto his neck, the other was gripping onto his arm. “Tell me what feels good.” He said softly. 

“Everything you’re doing right now,” she gulped. His fingers were going up and down her lips in a methodical motion. 

“Mmmm,” he agreed, “but would it be better if I did this?” He pressed deeper into her, focusing on her opening and circling that instead. Kris’s breath hitched and her back arched slightly. 

“Better?” Kris only let out a shuddering whimper. He hummed in satisfaction, trailing his nose along the base of her neck and shoulder. He lifted his other hand and cupped one of her breasts, flicking his thumb over her nipple. 

“I like my nipples pinched,” she managed to say.

“Like this?” He pinched it with his thumb and forefinger, pulled it out a bit. 

“N-no, twisted,” she stuttered. He did so and wave of pleasure bloomed from her nipple tip. “Yes! Like that!” 

As he twisted, his other fingers started to slip into her opening, he only put one in a little bit to tease her. She was starting to really get going, the pleasure growing in her pussy to the point of frustration. He dipped his finger in deeper and she bucked. “Barley, I can’t stand it, please…”

“Please what?”

“Make me come.” 

“As you wish…” He slipped two fingers into her and started moving them in and out, sending rippling waves of satisfying sensation up her body. She moaned and dug her nails into his arm. Then he swirled them around and went deeper. Kris’s mouth hung open and a deeper moan escaped her. He grunted and started pressing up against her walls. “Let me know when I find it,” he whispered. 

Kris thought she loved this man right then. “It’s a little higher,” she gasped. 

“Here?”

“N-no, a little to the left… maybe… I UHH!” He found it. He moved his other hand to her clit as he rubbed her g-spot and Kris came harder than she had in a very long time. A low guttural moan came out of her mouth and her head lulled forward. His finger lightly rubbed at her clit and she felt another wave crash over her. She screamed this time and dug her nails into his arm and neck. He hitched the hand up inside her and started fingering her in and out again but harder and deeper. She hadn’t thought she could come this many times this quickly, but she came a third time pressing back into him and letting out more unrestrained cries of pleasure. He slowed down and pulled his fingers out with a satisfying slurp sound coming from her pussy. 

“How many was that?” He asked almost casually, but his breathe was hitching too.

Kris gulped for air and could only pant in his arms. “Uhhh… three… three times.”

“Not too shabby,” he smiled and kissed her neck. 

Kris’s head was all fuzzy for a couple of moments as she came down from the rush of three orgasms stacked on top of each other. Barley seemed to be enjoying caressing her breasts and kissing her neck and shoulder. Through the haze she heard the movie playing still, Ian Holm’s voice bringing her back into her body. 

“I should probably turn that off,” she said.

“Hmmm?” Barley was too busy kissing her. 

“The movie…”

“Oh! Ha! Yeah…” 

“How long did it take? Three minutes?”

“I literally didn’t even pay attention, I was just looking at you.” 

That made Kris’s heart somersault. She got up to Barley’s protests and reached over and hit the space bar on the laptop before closing it. She hopped off the bed and put the laptop on the floor. Barley was moving towards her already and she couldn’t keep a smile off her face. She pulled off her skirt and panties and kicked them away. Barley had his hands on her thighs almost immediately. He moved his hands up her body slowly and circled one of her nipples with his tongue. Kris let her hands fall to his hair and she shamelessly ran her hands through it. God, she’d wanted to be able to do that since she’d met him. 

“You are still wearing clothes and I think that’s a horrible crime,” she said matter of factly. 

“What’s my punishment for said crime?” He asked not stopping.

“Well, you can’t fuck me, sooo…”

“I walked into that didn’t I.”

“Pants. Off.”

Barley reluctantly let go of her and stood up and took off his shorts and boxers. Kris had to confess she’d wondered what an elf dick looked like, specifically Barley’s. Turns out it looked like a dick but blue, who could have guess it. His wasn’t super long but it had a good amount of girth to it. Kris took it up in her hand immediately and squeezed the base. Barley groaned and leaned into her. 

“For the love of all that is holy, please say you have condoms,” Kris sighed and looked up at her new lover. His cheeks were flushed and he looked breathless but his hazel eyes were excited. 

“Yes!”

Kris let him go and he rummaged through his night stand and pulled out a roll. Kris snatched them away and tore one open with her teeth. 

“That was hot,” Barley’s mouth quirked up.

Kris looked up at him coyly and winked. She grabbed his hips and pulled him towards her so she could roll the condom on, but first she wanted a little fun. She took up his base in her hand again and ran her tongue up it and got to the head and swirled around it. She squeezed him with her hand as she did this. Barley didn’t seem to be expecting this and his voice caught and hitched before a groan came out. 

“H-hold on, I don’t think I can last with you doing that.”

Kris let out a satisfied sigh as she swooped her tongue around the head one more time before popping it out of her mouth and coming back up. Barley looked unsteady on his feet and his eyes were glazed. He shook his head, “Fuck, I think I can handle you and then you do shit like that.” 

“Oh, I’m just getting started and you’ll never be able to handle me,” Kris replied with a mischievous smile. She could see Barley visibly gulp. “On the bed now,” she pointed. 

He obeyed sliding so his back was up against the wall a bit. It didn’t quite look comfortable so Kris gave him another pillow to put behind him before she took the condom and rolled it onto his cock. She then straddled him and easily sank right onto him. 

She gave a little moan as he slid into her and they were still for a moment. Just looking into each others eyes. They started kissing softly and Kris began to move against him slowly. His fingers were lazily tracing the curves of her body and Kris’s hands were in his hair. They moved in a slow steady rhythm, taking their time. After a while they stopped kissing and started to pant together, moving faster and more deliberate. Kris arched her back up and away, sitting up on him so she could move easier. He held her forearms to give her leverage and balance and their bodies began pumping together more vigorously. Pleasure waved up Kris’s body again and she closed her eyes and let her head fall back. Barley’s hands moved to her hips and he pressed down on them, stilling her for a moment. She opened her eyes to see him leaning forward with an impish grin of his face, the sweet curve in his mouth showing. He pushed her back onto the bed, keeping their bodies together. He held her hips and thighs up to him, hovering over the bed as her shoulders were pressed down into the blankets. He started pumping in and out of her, keeping the moderate pace as he continued to hold her up. _Fuck, he’s strong_ , Kris thought as more incoherent noises escaped her mouth. This position gave him all of the leverage and she couldn’t do much but feel the sweet sensation of his hard cock working inside her. She felt herself tightened around him as she got closer and closer to coming. She loved watching his biceps and forearm muscles tense as he worked.

“Barley…” she sighed. At the sound of his name a low sound came out of his throat as he exhaled. 

“I want you deeper,” she pleaded, trying to open her legs wider. He obliged but pressing harder into her, using gravity to his advantage. “More! Harder!” she was so close. He was panting hard and gripping her so tightly it almost hurt but mostly it made her even hotter. 

“I can’t hold on much longer…” he rasped.

“A little more! Please, Barley, keeping going!” 

He did, but not for long. He grunted and thrust aggressively one last time which sent her over the edge. As she came she felt him blow out a long breath and he deftly switched to holding her up with one arm as he used the other to lean forward into her. “Fuck…” he gasped hoarsely as he climaxed and slowly lowered their bodies down. Kris was mesmerized by the crook of his neck where his trapezius bulged and dipped into a slight hollow before his collar bone. He relaxed onto her and she brought her hands up to run her fingers over his shoulder and back muscles. 

They didn’t say anything for a while, both silently enjoying the after glow. Kris felt like she could lay there forever with his warm body on top of her, his cock still deep inside her. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck and she lazily brushed her lips against his skin and brought her legs up to wrap around his butt. His breathing had slowed and Kris almost wondered if he’d dozed off, she wouldn’t really mind if he did. His hand went down to her thigh though and he caressed it lightly. He propped himself up with an elbow and they were face to face again. 

Kris could only smile stupidly and nudge her nose into his. His eyes were soft and half-lidded, blinking slowly. 

“I was not expecting this today,” he murmured softly. 

“No? I was,” Kris grinned sticking her tongue out.

He snorted and kissed her. “You’re incredible,” he sighed and his breath hitched and he swallowed. “I uh… I’d like to be yours, if you want me that is.”

Kris’s brain felt like it was melting. She couldn’t describe how deliriously happy those words made her. 

“Only if I can be yours,” she whispered. 

He kissed her again but this time deeper and urgently. It made her head swim even more and her body shivered. 

A knock came at the door, “Hey, did you kids want to order pizza?” Laurel’s voice shouted down at them.

Their bodies tensed up immediately as the little sex bubble popped abruptly. 

They both shared a panicked look and then Kris couldn’t help smirking. Barley’s face broke into a worried smile and he scrunched up his face and yelled back up to his mom, “In a bit Mom, the movie hasn’t ended yet!” 

“But don’t you want to eat while you watch?” Laurel’s muffled voice reasoned.

“There’s two more movies…” Kris whispered. 

“We’re still on the first movie, we’ll order once we get to the second one!” 

“Oh okay then!” they could hear a shift in the floorboards as Laurel walked away. They both relaxed a bit, but the pure bliss of the moment was gone. 

“I totally forgot about your mom,” Kris snorted.

“I totally forgot about everything,” Barley chuckled and kissed her shoulder before pulling away from her. Kris felt a small sense of lingering pleasure as he pulled out of her and she almost wanted to try to convince him on another round, but she was certain they’d have plenty of time later. He got off the bed to take the condom off and Kris was left to stretch and enjoy him walking around naked. He realized she was staring at him and they had a moment of just looking at each other. 

“I know I was just on top of you, but seeing you naked on my bed is incredibly surreal,” he said.

“In a good way?”

“In a glorious way.”

Kris couldn’t help blushing. She rolled off the bed and gestured that she was going to use the bathroom. 

“We probably shouldn’t let your mom come down here because I’m sure it smells like two people have been fucking each other.” She said as she walked into the laundry room. She heard Barley guffaw behind her. Once she was finished using the bathroom, and entered the room again and the smell she’d just described was very apparent. 

“Oh yeah, that’s a pungent sex smell,” she confirmed. 

Barley had put his boxers back on and he grabbed what Kris figured was air freshener. He sprayed a bit. 

“Now it smells like mountain air and sex.”

Barley snorted, “Maybe we’ll just tell her.” 

“Oh no, I’m not telling the woman whose house I’m charitably being allowed to live in that I just barely fucked her son. There needs to be like a buffer day or something.”

“She’s gonna know pretty soon though anyway.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’m not going back to pretending that I don’t want to touch you all the time,” Barley pulled Kris in as she approached and kissed her. There was a heady moment where all Kris was aware of was the feeling of their tongues rolling around each other. Before she felt tempted to push him on the bed again though, she pulled back only to have Barley follow her. 

“Babe, it’s not that I don’t want to keep doing what we’re doing,” she said as her breath shuddered, “but your mom is going to keep bugging us about pizza, I can feel it.”

“Mmmm, babe…” Barley hummed and pulled her hips toward him. God, she wanted to let him keep going, but knew she couldn’t. 

“Okay, I’m putting clothes back on,” she sighed. Barley made protesting sounds, but she was resolute and scooped up her bra and skirt. “Where’d my shirt go?”

“Over there,” Barley sighed and looked mockingly put out. 

“As a compromise I won’t put my underwear back on.” She winked.

His face broke into that devilish smile Kris loved so much. 

They both got dressed and went up stairs. Kris felt supremely awkward as they moved into the kitchen. Laurel was over in the living room working out with one of her tapes. She saw them and turned it off. 

“I’ve got a Pizza Realm coupon you guys can use, how’s the movie? It sounded exciting.” Laurel was being nonchalant but Kris’s blood pressure spiked at the last words.

“Good,” Barley said a little too quickly.

“Oh yeah,” she looked slyly at her son. “What’s the movie about?”

Kris was about to answer, but Laurel put a finger up. “Barley, what’s the movie about?” Fuck, she totally knew.

“Uhhh… a lord of … rings?” Barley said weakly.

“Uh-huh,” Laurel was looking flatly up at her son, she then turned to Kris with the same look and gestured with her head to step aside with her. Kris gulped and looked back at Barley who looked a little pale. 

Once they were in the living room and out of ear shot, Laurel looked Kris straight in the eye. She put her hands on both sides of Kris’s face, “Okay, I think you’re a lovely young lady, who’s thoughtful and smart and a good match for my son. So I just have one really important thing I need from you if you want me to completely sign off on your relationship.”

“Yes?” Kris asked apprehensively.

“Please… please… get him to move out.”

Kris snorted and Laurel broke into a smile. “Also please try to be less loud next time.”

Kris blanched and Laurel laughed and patted her on the shoulder. She then nudged her towards the kitchen before turning on her work out tape again. Kris walked back to Barley feeling horrified and also a little relieved. 

“Are we good?” Barley asked skeptically.

“Yup, we’re good.” Kris nodded and she leaned into him. 

* * *

When he’d woken up that Sunday morning, Barley’s nerves were so addled he had a hard time focusing on anything. He was excited to spend time with Kris, but also certain that he’d spend the whole time hyper aware of her presence and unable to take in anything else. He’d tried to make his intentions clear in the days leading up. When she’d kissed him on the cheek, he’d been so ecstatic he had to take a drive in Guinie 2 just so he could yell about it in his van without her seeing. Still, he didn’t want to come on too strong. He didn’t know what she’d be comfortable with. He tried to temper his feelings and not expect a whole lot. Maybe she’d let him cuddle her, or kiss, maybe she really did just want to watch the movies. She did seem to adore them. 

He didn’t know for sure if they’d end up in his room, but he wanted to be prepared so he cleaned as best he could. He didn’t quite know how the sitting arrangement would work, the bean bag was too small for both of them and the bed seemed too intimate. He didn’t want to pressure her or anything. They probably wouldn’t even end up down here anyway. 

He hadn’t been prepared for just how pretty she looked. The off the shoulder shirt showed off her beautiful shoulder line and skin and Barley instantly wanted to touch it. When the movie had started he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He only knew that words were being said because her mouth was softly mouthing all of them. He imagined what it would be like to finally kiss her, to have her underneath him, softly sighing. He figured she’d be shy and giggling, tempting him by being coy and he’d draw her out little by little. He hadn’t expected the exact opposite.

She was not shy, she was demanding and greedy as she hopped on top of him and roughly pulled his hair and pushed his mouth onto hers. She took what she wanted and she wanted him. Badly. Barley was used to being the one who wanted someone first, he was used to making the first move and making his intentions clear. Kris blew him out of the water. Even when he was able to get his bearings and take control a little bit she still seemed more in control on the situation. The way she gripped his neck and pushed up against him, she was technically weaker than him but she had a surprisingly firm grip. The sounds of pleasure that came out of her mouth were shameless and primal. She wasn’t afraid of accepting pleasure nor was she shy about asking for it. Even when he’d still had his pants on he’d felt himself almost coming to just the pressure of her body and her ragged cries. 

When they’d finally come together their lovemaking had felt seamless. No awkward pauses or unsure movements, just two people completely absorbed in each other. It was intoxicating. He wanted to have her forever. 

He wasn’t surprised that his mom had known instantly, Kris had been very loud and he refused to feel guilty about that. In fact he was ecstatic that he didn’t have to restrain himself in front of his family. He could pull Kris into him or grab her from behind all he wanted now. 

They ordered pizza and while they waited he pulled her out into the backyard and pressed her up against a wall to kiss her. They made out until they heard a car pull up into the driveway. Barley paid the Pizza Realm delivery person and they headed inside and back down into his room. 

“Wouldst my lady love like to take the first slice?” He asked opening the pizza box on the bed. 

“Indeed she wouldth,” Kris said as she picked up her laptop off the floor first. “But truthfully I would really like to watch these movies with you if you’re still up for that? Or are we doing a pizza break before going at it again, because I’m honestly good with either plan.” 

Barley was in serious trouble of falling completely in love with this girl. “How about pizza and one movie and then go from there.”

She agreed. 

This time when Kris started up the movie, Barley was much more relaxed and was able to actually pay attention. He made to admit he was hooked the moment the opening narration started. It was strange seeing every person have the same skin tone as Kris, no wonder she’d been thrown by his. He also balked when the narration lady said “fires of Mt. Doom”. 

“Wait… like the soda?” he asked perplexed.

“In my view the soda is a reference to this,” Kris pointed at the screen.

“But what if it was the other way around?” Barley teased.

“Don’t make me regret fucking you.” 

He laughed and reached for another slice of pizza. He hadn’t eaten breakfast because he’d been too nervous and now he was starving. 

As the movie continued, Barley started to totally get why Kris loved this movie so much. It had everything. Magic, a grand quest, noble heroes and insurmountable odds. Who wouldn’t like this movie? Were they dead inside?

“That Strider guy is pretty hot,” he said at some point.

“Yeah, he and Legolas are the standard choices. I’m more partial to Sam.”

“Oh reeally?” he looked over at her with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

“I may have a type,” she side eyed him and grabbed at his belly. He pulled her in and they had to stop the movie to make out for a bit. 

When they got back to it, Kris was in his arms and he was pulling lazily at the strands of her hair. He was loving the fact that he could just touch her whenever he wanted to. He put her hand in his and intertwined their fingers and started kissing her jaw. He heard her breath catch as he did, he pulled her in closer. 

“Barley, I’m a big fan of what you’re doing right now, bu-” she started to say and then he pulled at her earlobe with his teeth. “Uuuhh… I think, mmmm, that we should choose which activity we want to focus on.”

“Sorry, I just love being able to do that whenever I want,” Barley sighed against her neck and squeezed her in his arms. She giggled deliciously and nuzzled him back. 

“Me too… Oh! The Balrog is about to show up!”

“The what?”

“Watch, watch!”

The Balrog was indeed fucking awesome but Barley was not expecting what happened next.

“Did… did Gandalf just die?”

“Yep.”

“Gandalf can’t die…”

“Why not?”

“Wull cause…” Barley frowned at the screen. The crying hobbits were getting to him. “He’s Gandalf?”

Kris patted him on the cheek, “there, there.”

“What happens to him though?”

“Watch the movie and see.” 

Barley deflated but was reinvested once more elves showed up. 

“These elves might be way cooler than I actually am,” he whispered in her ear.

“I know this,” she whispered back. He tickled her side in retaliation. 

By the time they got to the end of the movie, Barley was heavily invested. 

“When Aragron lopped off that monster guys head! So fucking metal!”

“Urukai guy,” Kris corrected.

“Yeah yeah! And Boromir STILL fighting even with all those arrows! And then back in the mines with that cave troll and the Kraken thing in the water! And the Balrog!”

“Up for more?”

“Do it!”

* * * 

Watching Barley consume Lord of the Rings for the first time was one of the cutest things Kris had ever witnessed. She’d been excited to get to the beginning of Two Towers since Barley seemed flabbergasted about Gandalf falling and she was not disappointed with his reaction. When they’d first started watching he’d been relaxed and chatty, flirting with her and getting distracted. Now he was glued to the screen, making faces as the action unfurled. 

“No! Gandalf fighting the Balrog was a dream? Or was it?” He looked down at her. “Was it?”

“I dunno, you’ll have to watch the movie,” Kris replied looking smug. 

“You’re going to keep saying that any time I ask a question aren’t you?”

“I dunno, you’ll just have to- gah! Ha ha! Stop!” He’d figured out she was extremely ticklish earlier and was using his powers for evil. He relented when she asked him to though and pulled her legs onto his lap so his hand could run up and down her thigh as they watched. 

Kris found it amusing that the more Barley got into the movie the more she was zoning out. He was just so warm and comfortable to curl up against, she felt incredibly safe in his arms. The familiar sounds of the movie and the steady rise and fall of his chest was making her very sleepy. She didn’t notice she’d dozed off until she felt his hand cup her chin as his thumb running over her lips.

She blinked awake but couldn’t suppress a yawn. Once she’d come to a bit more she recognized the credit song playing. She looked up and Barley was staring at her with fondness in his eyes. 

“Aw man, I missed the part where Gandalf comes back...” she sighed.

“I knew he couldn’t have died, I knew it!” Barley was full of righteous vindication about guessing this plot point. 

“Well he did technically die. Gandalf the Grey died.”

“Yeah yeah, technically…”

“So what’s the consensus on the Two Towers?”

“AWE-some!” Barley went on to just explain the most exciting bits of the movie because he was so jazzed about it. Kris found it extremely endearing the way his face would light up talking about it and look back at her to see if she agreed that the movie was indeed awesome. She also suspected that he’d been keeping all this excitement in the whole time so that he didn’t wake her up. When he was done gushing over the movie, Kris was certain she had a dopey grin on her face. 

“What?” He asked.

“You’re just adorable.” She said, trailing her finger through his hair line. He leaned into her touch. “I also have to confess I’m super obsessed with your hair.”

One of Barley’s eyebrows quirked up, “I am super on board with that.”

“Good, cause I’m going to be doing this a lot,” she ran her fingers through it. 

Barley closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation. Kris repositioned herself to sit up more and face him more directly. She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. He responded by pulling her hips in and grabbing her ass. They made out as if trying to eat each others faces. When they broke apart both of them were short of breath.

“I think it’s time for a break from the movies,” Kris said, closing the laptop. 

“Agreed,” Barley nodded and pushed her down on her back and slid his fingers under her skirt. He pulled it up and ran his hands up and down the inside of her thighs before lowering his head down. He spread her with his fingers first and then started using his tongue. 

Kris felt a shiver start at the source of his touch and go all the way up her spine. She automatically put her hands up into his hair and heard him make a muffled chuckle. He worked slow at first, teasing her with light touches, but soon he was steady in exploring the folds of her vulva. Paying extra attention to spots when she whimpered or gasped. He slipped two fingers in and started moving them in and out. 

Kris was panting hard after a while and she was pulling on his hair a bit but he didn’t seem to mind. She was trying very hard not to make any loud sounds but he was making it difficult. 

“Ba-barley, I can’t be too l-loud this time,” she whined between halting moans. He responded by pushing his fingers in deeper and wriggling them. She bit down on her lip hard and pulled at his hair. This boy was going to make it so hard to look any of his family in the eye. He had the audacity suck lightly on her clit then and Kris bucked involuntarily and a sharp “fuck!” came out of her mouth. He pulled away from her then, his expression was extremely amused and mischievous. He hadn’t quite made her come and she had a feeling that had been his plan. She desperately wanted to rip his pants off. 

He seemed to have the same idea because he hopped off the bed, undid his pants enough to get his cock out and quickly put a condom on. He then grabbed her by the hips and slid her butt to the edge of the bed. She kept her legs spread for him and he slipped in easily. A spasm of pleasure pulsed through her as he entered. He’d made her so hot already. He started pumping vigorously right out of the gate. Kris made a low sound in her throat she couldn’t suppress and then grabbed onto his shoulders to pull herself up close to him. She wrapped her arms around him and dug her nails in hard and then bit down on his shoulder to stop herself from screaming. This back fired however because this made Barley make a loud bellow, grab onto her hips and made forceful deep thrusts into her. She came hard and even with her mouth on Barley she ended up squealing a little too loudly. Barley made one last hard thrust and held her tightly up against him as he came as well. A deep husky moan sounded in his throat and he was breathing very hard. Kris could feel his cock twitching inside of her. 

They remained joined together, chests heaving. Kris could see she had drooled all over his shirt. She looked up at him and he was smiling broadly at her, breaths shuddering out of him. “That. Was. HOT.” He said and laughed shakily. 

Kris didn’t have any air to reply, she just rolled back down on the bed and tried to catch her breath. Barley was still chuckling to himself and running his hands up and down her thighs. 

“I’m never going to be able to talk to your mom again,” she groaned. 

“Pssh, she’s probably heard worse. Besides her bedroom is right above mine and you don’t want to hear what a centaur going at it sounds like.”

“Ew! I didn’t ever need to think about that!”

“Neither did I…” Barley replied darkly. “So I consider this payback. Glorious, glorious hot payback.” He pulled her back up to him held her chin in his hands to kiss her. 

“I hope I didn’t bite you too hard, sorry if I did.”

Barley reeled back his head and came back shaking it vigorously, “Never ever ever apologize for doing shit like that, ever. I thought I was going to explode it was so hot.”

A laugh bubbled out of her, “All right, duly noted. Boy likes it rough.”

He growled in agreement and kissed her again. “You seem to like it that way too.”

Kris bit her lip and put her arms up onto his shoulders, “Mmm definitely. I’m not into biting or hair pulling, but you gripping hard, pulling me towards you or just moving my body where you want it and fucking hard are” she had a clicking sound with her tongue, “really hot. Oh! And spanking, I’m so down for spanking.”

Barley’s eyes widen and a smile grew devilishly on his face. “You might be the perfect woman.”

“Might be?”

Barley slapped her ass and they uncoupled. While Kris went into the bathroom she heard him laugh, “Ha! You totally left teeth marks in my shoulder.”

“Battle scars, babe!”

“Hell yeah!”

Kris finished in the bathroom and stretched in the doorway. “Do you want to finish Lord of the Rings or do something else?” She asked. 

“What time is it?” Barley glanced at a clock on his night stand. “We could go get some food and then I’ve got a place I’d like to take you.”

“Oo! Do tell.”

“Nope, it’s a surprise.” 

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barley takes Kris to his work for the first time. This is where Shrub shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention of emotional abuse by the parent in case that's a trigger for anybody.

They pulled up to Burger Shire with Barley’s music blasting. Kris liked his taste in music, it fit him perfectly and she already had a list of bands and artists from her computer she wanted to share with him. 

“Oookay, I totally see why this would have freaked you out on that first day.” Barley said looking over at the sign that still said “Now Serving 2nd Breakfast”. 

“It’s uncanny!” she exclaimed. “It still bugs me!”

“Yeah… bugs me too now…” 

“I dunno, maybe our worlds are weirdly connected some how.”

He shrugged and rolled down the window to order. “Your order, m’lady?”

“I am morbidly curious about what a griffin burger tastes like.”

“And what drink?”

“Water.”

“Right, not a fan of soda. What do you like to drink the most?”

“Tea, if it turns out your dimension doesn’t have a good jasmine or earl gray I’m going to be very sad.”

“Those words mean nothing to me, but if you want we can go on a quest for tea sometime!”

Kris beamed and nodded. 

They got their food and then Barley drove out of town, it wasn’t like Kris knew any landmarks or anything so she had no idea where he was taking her. It had been late afternoon when they’d left the house, but now the sun was just starting to set. They ended up going up an old dilapidated road that didn’t look like anybody used it anymore. Ancient ruins where scattered around as they went up a hill. As they crested it the world opened up into a huge expanse of country. Huge mountains rose in the distance while the valley was filled with golden shimmering grasslands. It looked very similar to the fields of Rohan. 

“Wow…” Kris breathed. 

Barley parked at the top of the hill. Kris stumbled out of the van and wandered out to take in the breathtaking view. It felt… strange. The landscape could have been something from Earth but the mountains looked a little too sharp and unreal, the grass too shimmery in the light. She glanced over and saw a tree near by, it was twisted and low, it’s bark jutting out in deep sections. It looked a lot like the juniper trees in the Utah desert. Kris’s heart panged with homesickness. She walked up to the tree and held onto one of the branches, she inhaled but the juniper smell her brain expected wasn’t there. 

“Kris?” Barley called after her. 

“Coming,” she wiped a tear off her cheek and went back towards the van. Barley had laid out a blanket on the ground and had their food ready to eat. 

“Behold! What do you think?” Barley asked excitedly, spreading his arms out to the view.

“It’s gorgeous, it looks almost exactly like Rohan.”

“Right? When it got to that part of the movie I knew I had to bring you here.”

“They filmed the movie in a country called New Zealand and I had always wanted to go, but… well. Anyway this is just as good! Better even because I don’t have to be on a plane for 20 hours.”

They sat down and ate their food. Griffin burger had a stronger flavor than beef, but not bad. Kris didn’t know if she liked it or not. As they ate and chatted the sun was setting and it got dark quickly. Soon Kris was laying down in Barley’s arms and looking up at the stars. 

“One thing your dimension has over mine is that sky,” Kris said as she played with Barley’s hand. “It’s honestly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I’ll stay up at night just to look at it.” 

Barley made a strange sound in his throat, “Hrm, um, yeah I feel like I should tell you something.”

“What?”

“I may have seen you skinny dipping that one night.”

Kris felt oddly embarrassed for a second but then decided that was silly considering. She turned over in his arms so that she could see his face. “Oh really, just the once?”

Barley’s eyebrows shot up, “you did it more than once?”

“Oh yeah, several times actually.” 

“That explains why you ripped your top off so quickly…”

Kris snorted, “I’m glad it was just you who saw and not like literally anybody else. It was just you, right?” She’d actually feel horrified if Ian or Laurel had seen. Barley’s eyes glazed over as she assumed he was recalling the memory, “yup, it was just me… I did not sleep at all that night…”

Kris suddenly recalled the day Barley had been so tired and weird around her. “Oooohhh, it was that one day, after I got my computer working…” 

“Yeah… I’d been kinda smitten before, but then seeing you so happy and singing and… naked. It got really hard not to want… you.” 

Kris’s stomach filled with butterflies and her face heated. She flicked her finger at the strands of his bangs. “I’d say we should go skinny dipping together but by today’s standards you’d end up making me wake up the whole neighborhood.” 

Barley gave a low chuckle that rumbled through his chest. “It might be worth it.” She playfully slapped his chest and turned back around to look back up at the sky. He squeezed her tight and caught her hand in his. 

Maybe being stranded here wouldn’t be so bad, Kris thought. She didn’t know what she was going to do in the long run, or even what she’d be doing in the next month, but she hoped Barley would be there with her. They were quiet for a long while, staring up at the stars and fiddling with each others hands. 

“Hey, do you have any constellations up there?” Kris asked breaking the silence. 

“Indeed! There’s Shamblefoot the Wondrous right there,” Barley started animatedly pointing out the star patterns. “And over there is Chantar the Great Dragon, see her tail curl up right there?” 

Kris tried to see the shapes he described but she had always been bad at figuring out constellations. Barley became very wrapped up in talking about each of the figures in the stars, recounting their histories with a wealth of knowledge. His enthusiasm was infectious and Kris felt like she could listen to him ramble on about it forever. He described every constellation he could pick out of the sky and when he was finally done Kris was drowsy and content. 

“You still awake?” Barley nudged her after he’d finished. 

“Hmm? Oh yeah I was just enjoying listening. Myths and legends have always fascinated me and there’s something so… I dunno grand about putting them in the night sky. Makes the world feel bigger and smaller at the same time.” 

“Did you star gaze a lot back home?”

“As a kid, yeah, my dad had a telescope…”

“Oh… sorry if I made you miss him.”

Kris made a sharp grunting sound in her throat, “No, I didn’t see my dad even when I was in the same dimension.” 

“Why?”

“You know how you only have four memories of your dad before he passed?”

“Yeah…”

“I have two from when I was little and he was alive the whole time.”

“Oh… did he… leave you?”

“No, he was just always working and when he wasn’t working he was ignoring us. My parents divorced when I was about ten and when we had to go over to his house for visitation he was a complete stranger to me. And when he wasn’t a stranger anymore I wished he still was…”

Barley was silent.

“Sorry, you probably don’t want to hear any of this.” 

“No no, it’s okay, if you want to talk about it, you can. But you don’t have to.” 

“He just…” Kris swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “I couldn’t do anything right. Every little thing from how I ate to how I blew my nose he’d criticize and try to ‘correct’ me. Only time he’d pay attention to me was to do that, or make fun of me for being… I dunno, me? If I was being a little weird or over excited… It’s like he wanted me to act a certain perfect way not because he wanted me to be better for my own sake but because he wanted this perfect version of a daughter he could show off… or something. Not show off per say, but control. That’s it. He was all about control. 

In college he had been giving me a bit of money each month to live off of, but he stopped because I was taking too long in school. I had to get a job and that just made me worse at school and it was just a mess. Before I came here it had been a whole year since my sister or I had spoken to him. We had realized how toxic our relationship with him was and ended up cutting him off. He didn’t really try to repair it either… He sent one passive aggressive text message and a letter about how we didn’t consider his feelings and what he was going through and how we should have thought about that before telling him he was the bad guy. We didn't even start with cutting him off, we tried to actually talk to him about our relationship and he just... uhhh.”

There was a pause while Kris tried to cool herself down. She’d barely thought about her dad since she’d gotten here and she was realizing she still had a lot of trauma to work out about him. 

“I’m sorry… that that happened to you…” Barley said cautiously. He seemed concerned but at a loss for words. 

“Heh! I’m sorry I dumped this all on you. It’s probably not something you want to hear.”

“No no, you don’t have to keep apologizing. I’m happy to listen if it helps you, I just don’t really know… what to say…” 

Kris sat up and looked down at Barley, he looked genuinely sympathetic. She felt an old pain rise in her chest. Emotions she’d kept locked up for a long time. “This is probably really stupid but I understand what it feels like to not have a dad. To want somebody to be there for you when you’re having trouble and help you through it. I have this grief inside me for the parent I never got and it’ll never go away. It’s like this tiny kernel of sadness that’s permanently lodged in my soul. I miss the idea of a dad that never existed… That probably doesn’t even make sense…” 

“No!” Barley sat up too and put his arm around her. “That makes total sense, I have that too. Well, not exactly the same but close in a way. When you loose someone that pain never goes away, it’s always there… I can’t imagine not having that feeling tied to a person though. When I found out my dad was into magic and that we probably had a lot in common my grief turned into something more bearable. Like even if he isn’t here I know he’d like me and be proud of me. And when I actually got to hear him say that, it was everything I had needed to hear since I was three. I don’t feel as… aimless as I did before. I’m sorry you can’t have something like that.” 

“Don’t be, I don’t think I need it. I learned I have to love myself instead of relying solely on other people. I didn’t always and I’m still getting there, but I find a lot of pride in the fact that I have the strength to do that on my own.” 

“Ah, I knew you were a mighty warrior!”

“Yeah, don’t mess with me and my power of self validation.”

“I shan’t but I will gladly follow you into battle!”

“Kris the Courageous will fuck you up!” she shouted out into the night. 

“And Barley the Bold at her side!” They laughed and shared a contented silence. Kris felt a link form between them as they sat in mutual understanding. Kris was comforted by the fact that she could talk to Barley so openly, but it felt strange to be so vulnerable. 

The night was really starting to get dark now and Barley stood up and helped Kris to her feet as well.

“Shall we return home, my courageous lady?”

“Certainly!”

Barley’s smile became a little hesitant as he asked, “If you’d like you can sleep in my bed… with me? You could be in my room from now on if… you wanted to.”

“Gasp! Are you asking me to move in with you? So suddenly?” Kris feinted surprise. “Next you’ll be wanting me to meet your mother! Oh this is going too fast!”

Barley laughed half-heartedly but still looked a little nervous. Kris stood up on her tip toes and kissed him softly on the mouth, “I’d love to.” She said.

* * *

Barley was having a hard time falling asleep again. He was completely floored by the fact that a little less than a week ago he’d been torturing himself over this girl, unsure if he should even consider his feelings and now she was asleep in his bed. Kris slept on her side all curled up in a ball hugging a pillow tightly to her chest. She looked so small and vulnerable. 

What she’d said tonight had been surprising to him. He had no idea what it was like to have an abusive parent but he could imagine it being extremely hard on a kid. He thought back to all the times he’d given her a compliment and how she’d shied away from it as if they couldn’t be true. She reminded him of Ian in that both of them had to work at being confident, but unlike his brother she hadn’t had anybody to build her up. Every confidence she showed she’d managed to do herself in spite of someone actively pulling her down. Courageous indeed.

He hadn’t been brave enough to talk about his crippling self doubt. He hadn’t realized it until he and Ian had gone on their quest, but he’d been running away from ever confronting his mistakes. If he was wrong it meant he really was a screw-up with no direction in life. He was still running away from that idea, the only difference now was that he knew about it. The aimless feeling replaced with the self awareness of knowing exactly where he was heading and hating it, but not knowing how to stop. That was why he hadn’t wanted to get involved with Kris. She was too good, too talented. She could do something with her life, while he… 

Barley had only ever been in one romantic relationship where he’d felt a major attachment. That person had left… After that he would have a good time with someone and then they’d usual mutually break up. Sometimes they’d get sick of him but he’d become guarded enough to not care. But the thought of Kris getting fed up with him… It hurt to think about. He was also almost certain of that possibility. 

Ian was right though, it’s not like he’d die if she broke up with him. It would hurt like hell, but he’d be okay. All he could do for now was enjoy the time they spent together. 

* * *

Kris woke up with something warm on her chest and what felt like breathing on her neck. Why would there be… _oh yes_ , _the boy_. She turned her head to find Barley’s face drooling on her pillow just above her left shoulder, he was on his belly with his left arm flopped over her. Her left arm was trapped underneath his chest but she didn’t really mind. His breath didn’t smell amazing but she was sure hers didn’t either. She leaned into his face and touched their foreheads together while rubbing her hand up his arm. Just like his hair, she’d never get tired of his big arms. 

He snapped awake with a snort and seemed disoriented for a second before making a pleased hum and turning on his side to pull her in. “Good morning, my lady love.”

  
“Morning,” she sighed sleepily. They started softly exchanging small kisses but it soon progressed to more steady making out. Kris was still half asleep and this felt like a wonderful dream. Barley pulled her butt towards him and she could feel his morning wood up against her thighs. She pulled back to slap a hand down on the condoms on the night stand, but she couldn’t see what she was doing. Barley reading her intent made an approving chuckle and grabbed them for her. 

Their lovemaking was sleepy and slow, Barley taking his time on top and Kris just enjoying the heady dreamlike pleasure. Their mouths were practically glued to each other. When Kris came it was a slow sensual burn, lethargic but sweet. Barley made one deep groan and then sank into her. Their breath had quickened a bit, but not to the point of heavy breathing. They butted heads together, intoxicated with each other’s presence. 

“That was an awesome way to wake up,” Barley grinned. 

“Mmmmm, I dunno if I’m awake yet though,” Kris’s head still felt rather fuzzy and she couldn’t tell if it was sleep or Barley. 

He got out of bed and started getting dressed after taking the condom off. “I have to go to work today… Hey! Do you want to come with me? I can introduce you to some of my friends.” 

“Yeah sure, but won’t I get in the way?”

“In the way of what? It’s a table top game shop on a Monday, it’s not a hub of activity.” 

“Okay, I don’t want to distract you though, I’ll bring my sketchbook to entertain myself.”

“Trust me, you’d distract me whether you were there or not. And yes! Totally bring your sketchbook, I want to show off your amazing skills!”

Kris felt something catch in her throat at the thought of more people she didn’t know looking through her sketchbook. “Umm, actually I don’t really like showing my sketchbook to people. It’s just full of rough sketches and ideas, not really anything polished or… impressive.”

“You’re kidding, right? Your idea of a rough sketch is very elaborate.”

“You’ve seen my actual work, dude. I go bananas on details.”

“Yeah, but you’re selling yourself short, your sketches are at a ten and then your finished stuff is like POW exploding past the scale entirely!” Barley made exaggerated gestures with his hands. Kris got the feeling that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. 

“Oh fine, I’ll fight through my cringe…” She rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Kris had snuck into the sewing room last night and grabbed a few clothes and her borrowed hairbrush. She freshened up and put on pants and another long sleeved shirt. 

They went up the stairs together and Kris was surprised to see that the morning light seemed pretty early still. She would have guessed they had slept in. Ian was in the kitchen making a bowl of cereal, and as she and Barley came out of his bedroom, Ian’s expression flashed between surprise and amusement.

“Now Mom vaguely saying you guys were thankfully out last night makes a lot more sense.” 

Kris’s cheeks heated, she’d forgotten about how awkward this new dynamic was going to be. Barley on the other hand seemed to be completely without shame as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back up against his front. “Mom’s a hypocrite, she and Colt are gross together.” He said snaking his hands around Kris’s body. 

“I see your movie date went well,” Ian snickered. Kris could only giggle nervously as Barley kissed her neck. “And you’re going to be ten times worse than Mom and Colt.” 

“Oh I’d say about ten thousand times worse,” Barley corrected.

“What horror have I wrought on this world…” Ian said sardonically, shaking his head. 

The gaming shop didn’t open for another hour, so Kris offered to make them breakfast before they had to leave. Barley was more than willing to take up the offer. He didn’t make the task easy however, as he kept distracting her with kisses and holding her from behind. Kris was hyper aware of the fact that they were in a super charged honeymoon phase. She had no idea if it would last at all, but things had been more than hard for her lately and she was going to enjoy this while it lasted. 

After breakfast and the dishes took the entire hour thanks to Barley, they left for the shop. Runic Tabletop Gaming seemed like a humble little store nestled into a strip mall next to a nail salon and a froyo shop. On the way there Barley had explained that the owner Adele Rune had given him the job there after years of him practically living in the store. Kris could tell he had a real fondness for her by the way he talked and it almost seemed like she’d also filled a parental roll for him besides Laurel. 

The inside of the shop was pretty standard for any tabletop store Kris had ever been in before. Games stacked the walls and there was a section of dice and other accessories. There was also a miniature section and a little table area for actually playing the games. When they entered there was already a skinny 20 something looking faun at the counter. 

“Kris, I’d like to introduce to you my questing companion, Shrub Rosehammer! Also we work together.” Barley announced. 

Shrub was tall but not as tall as Barley. He had long brown hair tied back in a pony tail, as well as a long goatee and darker tanned skin in comparison to Kris. All of his features were pretty slender and elongated. He was looking bored down at something behind the counter before he glanced up at them. His eyebrows went up at the sight of Kris. “Trans-dimensional girl?” he asked pointing to her. 

“The lovely and courageous Kris, yes.” Barley asserted. He’d had his arm around her shoulder walking in and now he bent down to kiss her on the cheek. _Oh lord, he is not going to stop even in public_ , Kris thought with a twinge of dread. 

“Hi!” Kris said weakly waving. 

“And he’s finally gotten to you, I see.” Shrub smirked. “I’ve never seen Barley moon over anybody for so long, well, long in Barley terms, which is anything over a day or two.” 

Kris looked up at Barley is surprise, “You were mooning?” 

For the first time today, Barley looked embarrassed. “A little,” he raised his fingers to indicate. 

“For weeks!” Shrub emphasized. “This last week has been the absolute worst, he wouldn’t shut up!” 

Kris continued to look up at her new boyfriend with a smug surprised smile, “Weeks, huh?” She poked his belly. She couldn’t help feeling a surge of giddiness at the thought of Barley pining after her while she had remained clueless. He smiled down at her with a vulnerable look in his eye. It made her heart stop for a second. 

“Oh you guys are going to be insufferable, aren’t you?” Shrub groaned. 

“That’s the plan,” Barley’s expression snapped back to it’s usual impish glee. 

“Don’t let Adele catch you making out in the store room or anything,” Shrub said dryly. Kris blanched at the idea of getting caught doing something here. She was certain she’d have to temper Barley’s enthusiasm while he was working. 

“Okay, trans-dimensional girl, what I want to know is if there’s a Quest of Yore equivalent in your world? Barley said our reality is all just made up stuff in yours, which is wild and I want to know what your history is like.”

Kris thought she was going to like Shrub Rosehammer, he seemed matter of fact and level headed. A cool presence in contrast with Barley’s fire. 

“There’s definitely an equivalent, Dungeons and Dragons, but it isn’t based in history at all. Well that’s not true, the game play was first based on real life battle tactics. But in terms of magic and stuff it’s pretty similar to what you guys have although I wouldn’t know exact differences because I haven’t played Quests of Yore yet.”

“You haven’t dragged her into a game yet, Barley?”

Barley avoided anyone’s gaze and half-heartedly shrugged, which seemed out of character for him. Kris felt like there was something he didn’t want to admit.

“Whatever,” Shrub waved it away. “I’m sure he’ll make you play now that he isn’t torturing himself about whether he should like you or not.” 

That was an interesting tidbit for Kris to digest, but she didn’t want to get into it right now. “Sure, I’d love to play. Back home I hadn’t done a campaign in a while just because of school and work and everything. Do you guys have a multi-class system? Cause my last character was an arcane rogue and it was super fun.” 

“Arcane rogue sounds cool as hell!” Barley brightened instantly. 

Before their conversation continued, Kris heard large foot steps approaching and a woman troll came out from the back room. She looked like she was approaching old age, not truly old but past Laurel in years. If she’d been human, Kris would have placed her in the early 60’s but she had no idea how long trolls lived. She had purple skin and the characteristic large nose of the trolls in this world. She looked tired but content. 

“Adele!” Barley exclaimed. “I want you to meet Kris!” He grabbed Kris’s hand and pulled her towards his boss. 

Adele’s attention shifted slowly over towards them. Kris had seen other trolls but she’d never interacted face to face with any. She couldn’t help feeling unnerved with how big they were. Adele’s expression seemed kind however and a little amused. 

“Ah, is this the young lady you’ve been besotted over?” Her voice was very deep, but surprisingly articulate. Or maybe all trolls were like this and Kris was just ignorant. 

“Yes! She brought her sketchbook, I want to show you her work!” 

_Good gravy, here we go_ Kris thought. She’d known it been coming but she’d hoped not so quickly. She nervously clutched the sketchbook to her chest as both Adele and Barley looked at her expectantly. She sighed and surrendered the book to Barley. He took it with relish and brought it over to the counter so that Shrub could look at it too. 

This was the part Kris hated, where people would casually look over her dumb sketches with mild interest and there was just silence that she couldn’t do anything about. Except Barley was rather good at filling that silence. 

“See! She’s brilliant! And these are just sketches, her finished stuff is mind blowing! Here! This one is my favorite.” He was pointing at the dragon sketch he’d found way back on that first day. “Oh! You’ve done more,” he glanced back up at Kris with an excited look on his face. He was so cute, she couldn’t stand it. “You drew Blazey! Amazing!” 

Kris was now eternally grateful that she hadn’t given in to her impulse to draw Barley weeks ago. It would have been incredibly embarrassing to have strangers witness her blooming crush. Although it might be fair play at this point. They went through the observational sketches Kris had done since coming here and then closed the sketchbook. 

“Well young lady, I must admit I was skeptical of Barley’s insistence of your talent given his feelings, but he didn’t exaggerate. Your work is quite impressive.” Adele said looking up at Kris. Shrub was nodding along with a vaguely surprised expression. Barley was practically bouncing.

“Oh… thank you…” Kris played with her hair nervously and shuffled on her feet.

“I’ve been meaning to commission a mural for the shop on that wall over there,” Adele pointed to the far wall of the shop where the gaming tables were set up. “Would you be interested in taking up the job?” 

“A mural?” Kris gaped. “Like… big and permanent?”

“That is the idea, yes.” 

Kris blinked. She’d never done a mural all of her own before. She’d taken a class in college, but it had been a group effort. There were a lot of logistics that when into mural painting. Getting the scale correct, getting the sketch projected onto the wall, all that paint… a lot of equipment that Kris didn’t have and didn’t know how to get access to. “Ummm…” she didn’t know what to say. She missed painting and having paid work would be amazing, but she didn’t know where to start. 

“Yes! Please do it! You’d do an amazing job, I know it!” Barley bolted over to her and shook her by the shoulders. “Do it! Do it!” 

Kris laughed nervously and tried to still him. “I could, but I don’t have any supplies, a lot goes into a mural and I’m new here and I don’t know where to get everything I need.”

“I’d be happy to pay for any up front costs and then pay you for the actual work when completed.” Adele nodded sagely. 

“Oh… okay. Yeah, I’d love to,” Kris agreed shyly. 

“YES! Can we go to the art supply store now?” Barley was bursting with excitement. 

“I need to figure out what I’m going to paint first, babe.” Kris reasoned. “And make sure Adele likes it.”

“A historical illustration preferably, some exciting event or another. Barley can help you find something suitable.” Adele instructed. 

“Yeah!” Barley grabbed Kris from behind and raised her up in his arms, lifting her off the ground a bit. Coming down he buried his face in her neck and kissed her. “This is gonna be epic!”

“Oh dear, they are going to be quite sickening, aren’t they?” Adele muttered.

“That’s what I said.” Shrub grumbled.

* * * 

Barley was all ready to immediately start helping her figure out the subject of the mural, but Kris reminded him that he was at work and that took priority. He had to do inventory in the back and wanted Kris to help him, but she also felt like that was a recipe for disaster. Despite his giant puppy dog eyes, she refused to join him and stayed in the front of the store to draw. 

Shrub was helpful enough to get her a stool so she could sit at the counter and doodle. 

“You might be all right, if you aren’t immediately going along with everything Barley wants to do.” Shrub commented once Barley had finally kissed her goodbye several times. 

“Why do you say that?” Kris asked a little taken aback.

“Barley has a magnetic personality, he’s so enthusiastic and supportive about stuff that it’s easy to get caught up in his messes. He’s impulsive which leads to… trouble sometimes. If you’re strong willed enough to tell him no, he might actually learn to think through some of his antics.” 

“What kind of trouble?” Kris felt a little kernel of apprehension start to grow.

“Oh nothing too serious, mostly self inflicted injury and the occasional night in jail.” Shrub shrugged.

“Jail?! For what?” 

“Has this not come up yet?” Shrub said with surprise. “Barley’s got a passion for protecting historical sites while the majority of our city… doesn’t care, to say the least. He’s gotten in hot water for trespassing on technically private property and chaining himself to stuff in order to save it. Or sabotaging equipment. One time he filled an entire back hoe with fish. That was a good one, heh.”

“Oh…” Kris was relieved he wasn’t involved in any serious crime. But still she suddenly realized that she didn’t know Barley all that well and that thought was a little unsettling. It was an obvious fact in hindsight, but she’d been so caught up in the high of being with him this felt like a shock of reality. Everything had happened so quickly yesterday she hadn’t thought about the consequences of starting a relationship with a guy she already lived with. A pit started forming in her stomach of the idea of something going badly and being stuck at the Lightfoot home. However the hope of paying work was a start of a new plan to get her own place. If she wasn’t dependent on Laurel that would ease her stresses significantly. Then whatever happened with Barley would be manageable… maybe. She had a terrible habit of completely and utterly falling for a person only to have them break things off a few months later. 

“Did I just pop the little Barley bubble you were in?” Shrub said with an amused tone.

Kris was pulled out of her thought spiral, “No… I mean yes, we just barely got together yesterday. I haven’t had time to really process what it all means.” 

“Oh boy! Wow, I didn’t realize it was so fresh. I’m sorry I poked the little love cocoon. You should have at least gotten a week before becoming disillusioned.”

“This isn’t my first crush, dude. I’ve played this game before and I’m fairly certain I know the outcome. There’s just the added complication of me already living with him. I really should have thought of that before jumping him…”

“Wait, _you_ made the first move? Seriously?”

“Yeah, why?”

Shrub’s eyes were very wide as he blew a stream of air through his mouth. “Nothing, that’s just… not common for Barley. In fact I can’t remember that ever happening to him.”

“Really? Never? I can’t believe that, he’s so…” Kris didn’t want to say hot but she meant _hot_. Or maybe he just fell perfectly into her own specific tastes. 

“Don’t get me wrong, the guy can attract people, but he doesn’t pay attention to anybody whose interested unless he is too. And like I said he’s impulsive, if he likes somebody, he just goes for it. He does not wait. Well, expect with you… Huh…” Shrub regarded her with an air of interest. 

Kris felt like she was learning a lot today and she didn’t know exactly what it was yet. 

“Hey Shrub, do you know if the latest models for the new expansion pack have arrived yet?” a customer had approached the counter. Kris had heard him come in while they’d been talking. He was a short elf with dark blue skin, coarse short hair, and a plump frame. He looked to be around the same age as Shrub and Barley, maybe a little younger. 

“No, you’d have to ask Adele… or Barley, he’s doing inventory right now.” 

Just then Barley came out of the back room carrying a box of stock. “Ah, hey Baldur!” He called over to other elf casually and dropped the box to start restocking some things. 

“Hey Barley!” Baldur responded with a little more enthusiasm than Barley had. “How are you doing these days?”

“I am absolutely glorious!” He looked over at Kris and winked. Baldur caught the exchange and Kris thought she saw a slight frown appear on his face for a second. 

“Oh, that’s good…” he hesitated. “Anyway, do you have the new model miniatures for the latest expansion pack?” 

“Yes! I saw them in the stock room, I’ll go get them.” Barley didn’t go directly to the back though, he made a detour over to Kris and slid his hand under her chin. “You sure I can’t convince you to help me do inventory? It’s sooo boring by myself.”

“It’s not gonna happened, Lightfoot,” she replied smoothly.

“Boo,” and then he kissed her hard on the mouth swirling his tongue around hers and making her forget her own name for a second. He left whistling. Kris felt dizzy as a shiver went up her spine. She looked over at Shrub who had a knowing smile on his face. _You’re in trouble_ , he mouthed silently. 

_I’m fucked_ , she mouthed back and Shrub laughed out loud. 

The new elf, Baldur was looking supremely uncomfortable as he waited for Barley to come back. He kept flicking his eyes back to Kris looking nervous and a little… bitter? Kris couldn’t really tell. She started to doodle again. 

Barley came back and handed over the miniatures, “Here you go, my friend!” he said brightly. 

“Thanks! Hey are you going to the meet up on Saturday? I wasn’t really planning on going but if you were there…” Baldur asked hopefully.

“Hmmm, I don’t really know yet. I’d have to see if my girlfriend would like to go.”

“Oh. Right…”

“It’s good seeing you, Baldur! Have a wondrous day!” Barley once again went over to Kris before retreating back to the store room. She was hunched over her drawing this time though, so he just squeezed her from behind and kissed her neck. “Plleeeaaase?” He whispered in her ear.

“Go do your job, ya big baby.” Kris said and could feel him pouting as he walked away.

Baldur had stepped up closer so that he could pay for the box. Kris saw him out of the corner of her eye. 

“Have you been with Barley for long?” she heard him say a little too smoothly. She glanced up at him and he had the look of a person who was interested in her for all the wrong reasons but was trying to hide it. 

“Literally happened yesterday,” she said.

He sucked air threw his teeth, “Oh you’re in for it. Barley really focuses in on a person for those first few weeks or maybe months, but then,” he makes a swooshing motion with his hands. “He forgets about you. His attention span isn’t very long, you see.” Baldur then put on a look of concern, “You seem sweet, I’d hate to see him break your heart like he’s done with so so sooo many others. You should be careful.” 

Kris had gotten the sense that when Shrub had been casually talking about Barley, he’d done it from a place of detachment. He was just a very frank person and he wasn’t going to sugar coat anything for her. This guy on the other hand was fishy. Very very fishy. 

“Uh huh… I’ll keep that in mind.” She said dryly.

“I’m serious, he’ll drop you as soon as he picks you up.”

“Duly noted.”

“Honey, I’m trying to warn you.” This guy really wasn’t going away, was he?

“Dude, I don’t know you, what is your deal? How is anything that happens between me and Barley your business? Let me guess, he ‘picked you up and then dropped you’? I don’t care! Get your manipulative bitter little self away from me!” 

Baldur’s face soured and he stood back. “I was just trying to help!” 

“No you weren’t.” Kris said flatly staring him dead in the eye. He huffed and grabbed his purchase and left. 

“Oh, I like you.” Shrub cackled as the store front door closed.

“What the hell was that mess?” Kris snapped back to him. 

“Hahahaha! That was Baldur!” Shrub seemed to have really gotten a kick out of the whole exchange. “He was a little flame of Barley’s for, I dunno, a month? Poor guy fell hard, but Barley was clearly not interested in anything serious so he broke it off with him before it went too far. Since Barley is Barley and can’t not be friendly they’ve stayed ‘friends’ but not really. Baldur comes in every once in a while and makes moon eyes at him.” 

“Am I going to be running into a lot of jaded Barley exes?” Kris gritted her teeth. 

“Eh, there are a couple others, but not many. Baldur’s the worst of them.” 

“Okay, good…” she exhaled. “You haven’t with…?” Kris looked at Shrub skeptically. She didn’t get that vibe, but maybe. Shrub stared at her blankly before getting her meaning. 

“Oh, ew! No! I’m not into anybody, but _especially_ not Barley.”

“Sorry if that was nosy.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I get it.” 

Kris pushed herself away from the counter and took a deep breath. “I feel like a lot of things just happened to me and I don’t know how to deal with them yet…”

“That sums up what it’s like to be around Barley fairly well.” Shrub said and patted her hand sympathetically. 

* * *   
Bonus Shrub:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shrub accidentally became one of my most favorite characters I've ever written.  
> I would die for Shrub.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kris starts the mural at Runic Gaming and tags along with Barley at his LARPing meet ups.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small note, I know there's a real Quests of Yore game but I've never played it, so I'm just making things up here.

Barley made several more attempts to get Kris to join him in the back room, but she refused each time. She did get tired of drawing though and eventually moved on to looking into how Quests of Yore was played. It seemed to be a much more limited game than Dungeons and Dragons. More about facing set challenges and puzzles rather than exploring of an imaginary world and character role play. You didn’t make up an entire character from whole cloth, you put yourself in a historical setting and went on quests based on past real life scenarios. It was pretty straight forward. 

Shrub was good easy company, they didn’t talk non-stop but intermittently. Partly because he had to do his job of minding the store front, but he also wasn’t a super chatty person. He would occasionally think of a question about her dimension. He seemed genuinely interested in learning about her world’s history. Kris had always found history interesting in school, but it wasn’t like she was a historian. She tried her best, but she felt like she got things wrong. 

“So what are satyrs supposed to be like in your world?” He asked as Kris was flipping threw a Quests of Yore book. 

“They’re from Greek mythology so horny. All about the symbolism of being half man, half beast, giving into carnal temptation and all that jazz. Basically all historical depictions of them are male. Always shown frolicking in a field chasing after a wood nymph or something.” 

Shrub snorted in derision, “Joke’s on the Greeks then cause I’m asexual.”

“Are nymphs a real thing here too?”

“Yeah, but they’re relatively rare, you don’t really see them unless you go looking for them in undeveloped country. Barley tried to find one once, he ended up with poison oak instead.” 

Kris gave a short laugh, “Are there a lot of Barley stories that end with him getting hurt?”

“Oh, countless.” 

“I’m going to have my hands full, aren’t I?”

“Awww, are you just realizing that?” 

Kris stuck her tongue out at him. She was really liking Shrub, if all of Barley’s friends were as cool as he was, she’d be happy. 

Barley came out of the back room with a triumphant look on his face. “I have conquered the inventory!”

“Have you finished restocking?” Shrub asked flatly as he thumbed through a comic. 

“Uhhh, damn I thought I was done,” he moaned.

“A little preoccupied there ol’ buddy?” Shrub teased. 

Barley only looked forlornly over at Kris and she could only give him a pitying smile. He went back to the store room and came back with things to set up. 

“Hey Kris,” Shrub said with a little too much amusement in his voice. “Would you like some candy?” and he pulled a bowl of suckers from under the counter. Kris could tell he was doing this to fuck with Barley some how, but didn’t quite know how yet. Plus she was interested in what candy flavors this dimension could have. She combed threw the selection, there was honey flavored ones and elderflower ones, there was a weird sage and mint one that Kris was kinda curious about. Finally she landed on a Pixie Pop because it looked most like a Blow Pop and she loved those. 

When she picked it out Shrub gave an approving nod, “Excellent choice, truly exceptional.”

She gave him a bemused look and unwrapped the candy, it was bright pink in color and smelled tangy. She licked it experimentally, it tasted pink too. It reminded her most of the pink runt candies, the ones that were supposed to be strawberries. She hummed in approval and started rolling it over her tongue absent-mindedly while she continued reading. She heard a crashing sound as several boxes tumbled over by Barley. She looked up to see Barley staring at her, mouth open with hungry eyes and a pile of fallen merchandise on the floor at his feet. She stopped twirling the lollipop in between her lips and side eyed Shrub who was holding his hand over his mouth desperately holding in a laugh. 

“Oh you are so evil,” she said with narrowed eyes. 

“You can, *snerk* You can always stop eating it.” His voice was getting progressively more high pitched as he held in his glee. 

Kris sighed dramatically. “But it tastes good!”

“I’m sure it does,” he snickered looking back at Barley who was still transfixed with Kris’s mouth. “Hey how’s restocking going, bud!” Shrub called loudly. Barley blinked and looked down. “Ah, shit…” he hadn’t even noticed that things had fallen. Shrub cackled. 

Kris took the sucker away from her mouth, “Jokes on you, cause when I’m done with this sucker I’m gonna go over there and make out with him for a solid five minutes. There’s gonna be loud mouth sounds and everything.”

“What if a customer comes in?” Shrub countered. 

“I’ll just wait til there aren’t any."

“What if I stand way too close to you while you try.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me, I live for this shit. It’s my only joy.”

“That’s sad.”

“But hilarious.”

Kris snorted into giggles then too. Okay, Shrub was amazing. 

By the time Barley finished restocking the shelves, Kris had whittled down the sucker to almost nothing and her lips were stained pink. As soon as he was finished, Barley made a bee line for her and immediately went for it. Kissing her gently but then indulging in the sweet taste of her mouth and making her whimper in his arms. 

“Oh eck I didn’t think this through…” Shrub winced next to them. Barley flipped him off as he pulled Kris closer. She giggled but then pulled away to Barley’s protests. 

“I told you, revenge is so sooo sweet.” She said and went back to it.

“I changed my mind, I don’t like you anymore. I forgot how gross kissing sounds! Stawwwp!” Shrub whined and covered his ears.

Kris pulled away again and this time Barley let her. “Are you officially done with your shift?” she asked. 

“Just gotta clock out, be back in a sec.” He said and jogged to the back. Kris gathered her sketchbook and pencil and stood up. She felt a little awkward at having just basically swallowed Barley’s tongue right next to his friend, but at the same time the rush of it made her feel shameless. 

“I have a feeling we shall meet again, Shrub Rosehammer.” 

“Yeah and I guess you’re all right… you get points for not doing that for the entire time you were here. I’ve suffered through so many Barley love bubbles. So many…” His eyes glazed over in remembered horror. 

“Is my boy a bit of a whore?”

“A bit, yeah.”

“Eh, so am I, I’m not gonna judge.”

“I will never understand you people…” Shrub sighed. 

Barley came back and motioned to the door, but Kris halted for a second. “Actually I need to use the bathroom, where is it?” 

Barley pointed it out to her before walking to the counter and leaning against it to wait for her. 

“She’s actually really cool, Barley.” Shrub said as he continued to thumb a comic. “I can see why you like her so much. Don’t fuck this one up, if I have to suffer witnessing your love life I’d like it to be with a person I can stand to be around.”

“Oh I’ll totally tailor my life to suit your needs, Rosehammer.” Barley said sarcastically but then his demeanor deflated to worry. “Believe me I don’t want to fuck this one up either but I probably will anyway. Or more likely she’ll get bored of me.”

“Barley Lightfoot do you actually have fweelings this time?” Shrub cradled his face in his hands and made a mocking surprised face. 

“You’re an ass.” Barley grumbled. 

“Only to you,” Shrub replied and went back to his comic. 

A couple minutes of silence later and Kris came out, she and Barley waved goodbye and left the shop.

As they walked to the van, something occurred to Kris, “You knew that Adele was looking for someone to paint a mural in the shop, didn’t you?” 

“Of course I did, that’s why I wanted you to bring your sketchbook,” he said easily. Kris shook her head and smiled to herself. The defensive and insecure part of her wanted to be mad for being blindsided, but she could have easily said no to Adele. Thinking about it Barley not telling her had let her not feel even more nervous about showing her work. If he’d actually said something she probably would have flatly refused. She didn’t think he’d done that intentionally, but she was grateful none the less. 

* * * 

The next few weeks were a haze of Barley filled delirium. Even with Shrub’s practical warning and Baldur’s disingenuous one, Kris couldn’t help getting intoxicated with Barley’s attention. He was just so good at pushing all of her buttons, and she had been dealing with a constant low level of stress since getting here, it felt amazing to just get lost in something that felt purely good. 

Several days after the first time she’d joined him at work, the subject of the mural came up. 

“What do you think I should paint for it? I have no idea where to start,” Kris asked as she and Barley were strewn haphazardly over his bed. 

“Oh! The shield of Zadar! Wait, no! The Battle of Yold! Oh but the deeds of Chantar would also be awesome…” Barley trailed off in thought.

“Adele really didn’t give us much direction, did she?”

“She’s always been really open ended.”

“What if I just painted the town, but like what it used to look like?”

Barley sat bolt up right and stared down at her, “that’s brilliant.”

“You sure it’s not too boring?”

“No! It’ll give context to every Quests of Yore game! It doesn’t matter what it is since it’s not tied to anything specific, people will be able to see what the world looked like and put themselves in it! Holy shit, that’s so genius! You’re so smart!”

“Am I?”

“Yes! Stop being mean to my girlfriend!” 

Kris could only snort giggle as Barley started to peck her with kisses. “Should we ask Adele about it next time?” she managed to say. 

Barley nodded vigorously as laid down next to her and pulled her closer. “She’s going to love this idea, I know it.” 

“I’ll need a fuck ton of reference.” 

Barley’s eyes widened in excitement as he pressed his nose into hers. “I have so many pictures of historical sites my stupid town has torn down. So many.”

“Can we go to the ones that are still standing?” 

“You okay with trespassing?”

“In the name of art, yes.”

“Fuck, you’re sexy.”

“Moldy buildings and misdemeanors really get you going, huh?”

“No, only you.” 

Barley then proceeded to make her believe just how smart and sexy she was for the next hour. 

* * * 

Adele did indeed love the idea and Kris was given the go ahead to start designing the mural. She took measurements of the space and started making rough thumbnails and color studies. Barley was overly excited with the idea of getting supplies, but unsurprisingly he was not allowed to use the business’s credit card. They had to wait until Sunday when the shop was closed and Shrub could come with them to pay for everything. 

“Adele didn’t really give me a budget you have to follow,” Shrub said from the back of the van while they drove. “But I’m not letting you buy whatever, it has to be for the mural specifically, as long as it follows those guidelines I don’t care how much it is.” 

“What if I’m hungry and really need to eat?” Kris said looking back at him, he was already shaking his head but she continued. “I’m the artist, you can’t have the mural if I die of starvation.” 

“Loophole!” Barley shouted, punching the van’s ceiling. “I vote Fry Fortress after the supply run!” 

“No!” Shrub moaned. “I’m not letting you buy food with company money _again_. Kris, you’re better than this.” 

“What if I really need a car so I can make research trips for the mural? Like a really nice car, because I should be comfortable, since _I am the awwtist_.”

“I’m canceling this mural. You’ve killed it, are you happy?”

They got to the store and immediately Shrub was the only adult present in terms of mood. Barley kept putting random things in the cart that Shrub would put back instantly. Kris was just giddy at the idea of having full reign of an art supply store and she didn’t have to pay for any of it. She managed to squeak a few extraneous things into the cart by logically explaining why they should be there. Hence she snagged herself a new sketchbook, a pencil case, pencils, and erasers.

Barley kept at his crusade to piss off Shrub as much as possible. Putting progressively bigger and bigger things into the cart and saying “it’s for the mural, Shrub.” And running off to get more. Sometimes he would accidentally put something in there that Kris genuinely did need and she’d echo “yeah, Shrub it’s for the mural.”  
By the end of the excursion the cart was packed with paint rollers, brushes, tarps, tape, and most importantly paint. As well as a giant model castle set that Shrub had been too tired to put back. 

“You legitimately want that model castle, don’t you?” Kris whispered conspiratorially to Barley as they lagged behind Shrub. 

“Oh hell yeah, that’s why I did it last when he was tired.” Barley affirmed, putting his arm around her shoulder. 

The total came to just under 300 gold and Shrub assured Kris that this wasn’t that bad at all. The shop had been doing well lately and could afford to have the mural done properly. Barley did not get his model castle. 

* * * 

Kris was not at all surprised to discover that Barley was a LARPer, or “historical re-enactor” in his view. But it was just LARPing. He tried to get her in on it, but she roundly refused. Watching him and his friends turned out to be pretty entertaining though, and the absurdity of it was lessened but the fact that there was actual magic. No screaming the word “fireball!” over and over, there could actually be a fireball. There was only one mage in the group, a cyclops called Yaldina. Kris found her to be a little over serious though and a little full of herself, since magic wasn’t widely used anymore it was more of a specialty. Kris labeled her a magic hipster in her head. Sometimes Ian would join the group, but he wasn’t nearly as serious and was just a kid enjoying time with his big brother. 

Barley looked like a massive dork in his viking hat and red cape, but Kris found it endearing. He was just so genuine and un-ironic in his actions there really was no point in feeling second hand embarrassment. The cape did make him look like a giant child though and Kris was tempted to talk him out of wearing it. Or maybe get Laurel to sew him a new one that wasn’t half of his size and not bright red. Kris was fairly certain he’d had the thing since childhood. 

Barley didn’t fight like a child though, he and the few of his friends who were up for it would spar and he did not pull punches. Neither did the friends. Kris soon found out where the first aid kit in the van was and that the cooler in it was full of ice packs as well as energy drinks and soda. 

Sometimes the LARPing meet ups would just devolve into lengthy discussions about what was truly accurate or not. When that happened Kris would grab her sketchbook and wander off. Her radius of exploring back at the house had been limited, but here in the park there was a lot more nature to gawk at. The plant life was spectacularly colorful and beautiful. Kris wished she could get a watercolor set so she could do color studies. Then there were the animals, the park was filled with an array of magical or otherworldly creatures for Kris to follow around. Strange mushroom frog hybrids, wispy little dragon flies, and something that looked like a cross between an owl and sugar glider were just some of the animals she’d been able to spot and draw. Even the insects, which normally would freak the hell out of of her, were all so beautifully patterned and distinctly bizarre that she couldn’t help being fascinated. 

One day Kris climbed a tree to get a closer look at one of the owl gliders and soon found she was stuck. She felt stupid for not realizing how high she’d been going. She couldn’t see Barley or any of his friends near but she could hear them. “Barley!” she called sheepishly at first. That didn’t seem to be loud enough to get his attention though. “BARLEY!” Still no response. She groaned, she was gonna be stuck up here until he noticed her absence and that could either be very soon or not at all depending how absorbed he was. 

“HEY BARLEY!” A creaky voice sounded just ten feet away from her. Kris nearly fell out of the tree at the sound of it. “SOME IDIOT IS STUCK!” Kris scanned for the person that was yelling but couldn’t see anybody, there was just another tree, and then she realized it was the tree. There was a face in the bark that Kris hadn’t seen before, a gnarled cranky looking face. 

Barley had thankfully heard the tree though and came jogging up. “What are you talking about, Bart?” he asked. 

“Ummm… hey, babe…” Kris called down. Barley looked up and started laughing. “I’m glad you find my terror hilarious,” she sighed. 

“Why are you up there?” He snickered.

“Wull there was a little owl glider thing and I wanted to look at it closer and so I started climbing, but it kept moving and then… Look I’m really scared of heights so I’m freaked out! Puh-lease get Ian or Yaldina or a ladder or something.”

“Or you could just jump down.”

“I…” Kris looked down, it was like a six foot drop. Technically not that bad, but bad enough for her fear of heights to stop her. “Okay, I know I’m a wimp right now, but I just really really hate heights.”

“Well then you shouldn’t have gone up there.”

“Are you trying to dad at me right now?”

“I’m just saying I think you can get out of this yourself. You can do it, come on!” 

“You have no idea how crippling my fear of heights and falling is. At summer camp they had us do trust falls and I refused.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” 

“I fall weird and break my neck and become paralyzed.” 

Barley’s face changed from encouraging to mildly exasperated. “Really?”

Kris looked down again, “Okay maybe not that, but I could roll my ankle and I hate that.” 

Barley shook his head and came closer up to the tree. He reached her and his head came up a few inches above her feet. He looked up at her with amused eyes. “You are worse than Ian.” 

“Yes I am, please help me?”

“No.”

“You could just reach up and pull me down!”

“I could.”

“You’re going to make me do this, aren’t you?”

“Are you Kris the Courageous or not?”

“Why did I call myself that…” Kris hissed to herself.

“Cause you are.” Barley said this with such conviction that Kris almost believed it. 

“Uhhhhhh, fine! Move!” He side stepped. Kris took a deep breath and gripped onto two branches for support. She pulled with her arms and pushed off with her feet and for a heart stopping moment she was air born before her feet hit the ground, but she wasn’t balanced so flopped awkwardly over. 

“Ow.” 

“See? You’re fine!” Barley said as he pulled her up.

“Thanks, dad.” Kris said sarcastically. 

“Let’s not do that.”

“Yeah it felt weird while I was saying it. ALSO were you aware that that tree can fucking talk?!?”

“His name is Bartholomew, he’s mean.” 

“I’m never gonna get used to living here…” 

“In a good way?” Barley asked hopefully while he snaked his hand around her waist. 

“I dunno yet,” she said coyly.

He kissed her until she said yes. 

* * *

Kris wasn’t sure of how to get the outline of the mural onto the wall. She brought the idea up at dinner one night and Ian said he had a few friends in the AV club at school that could help with a projector. The mural became her second passion after Barley. Any time she wasn’t actively spending with him, she was working on the composition. Finally she got it to look pretty good as a more detailed mock up and showed it to Barley. 

“Holy shit, that’s so good.” She’d known he say something like that, because he literally enjoyed anything she drew, even doodles. She did have to admit that it was pretty good. 

“You can see the whole valley! The central hub, the tavern, the woods, the labyrinth… oh! There’s the fountain! And the dragon in the sky looks sick as hell!”

“I had to put a dragon in there, cause it’s me.” 

“Have you always loved them?”

“Yup, it’s more normal for girls in my dimension to be obsessed with horses or something, but for me it was dragons. I was the weird dragon girl in school.”

“I was the weird kid who wore a cape to school.” 

“Of course you were.” 

Adele seemed ecstatic about the mural mock-up, or as excited as a troll could get which was basically a slightly faster pleased nod than usual. Kris had Shrub rent one of those scaffolding platforms so that she could more easily get to the higher bits of the wall. She and Barley moved all the gaming tables to storage, taped up the edges of the wall, and put down the tarps. The wall was finally ready to do painted on. 

The projection of her outline didn’t quite match up with the wall, but it was only off by an inch or two, something she could easily make up for. She was surprised she hadn’t made more mistakes on the scale given that this was she first solo mural. Putting down the outline took forever and by the time she was done her back and arms were sore. This was going to be back breaking work. 

She turned off the projector and moved the scaffolding out of the way to see how it looked so far. 

“Wow… it’s a bunch of lines.” Shrub said flatly. 

“Yeah that’s kinda the point of an outline.” Kris countered. 

“This is gonna look so fuckin’ sick!” Barley grappled her into an over excited hug and picked her up. 

“Can you not shove your face into your girlfriend’s chest in public, you barbarian.” Shrub retched in disdain. 

“Do not tell him what not to do or he’ll be worse- EEE! No! See?!” Kris squirmed as Barley licked up her throat. 

“Please break up with him,” Shrub pleaded. “Crush his little heart right now.” 

Barley chuckled and put Kris down, “So what now?”

“Now we paint.” Kris gestured to the paint cans.

“Wait, we? I can help paint?” Barley’s voice was so full of childlike glee that Kris snorted. 

“Just the base coats, and you can’t just slop it on. It has to be thin enough for me to see the outline still.”

“If he fucks it up then will you break up with him?”

“No, but I will punish him later,” Kris said suggestively and slapped Barley’s butt. 

“Why do you betray me every time… I never learn…” Shrub walked off. 

Painting with Barley was as chaotic as Kris expected it to be. He got as much paint on himself, the ground and her as he did the wall. By the time they were finished, Kris’s tank top and sweat pants would forever be paint clothes, and so would every single piece of clothing Barley had on. She’d been prudent enough to make him take off his vest, arm cuff and beanie, but forgot about his shoes.

“We’re gonna need to shower when we get home,” Kris said glibly.

Barley’s face broke into an evil grin, “At the same time? Please at the same time!”

“Only if nobody is home.” 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Barley and Kris getting to know each other as they date. And the Manticore has decided to start an historical festival.

Nobody was home. 

“I don’t know if this is going to go like how you think it is. Have you ever tried to fuck in the shower before?” Kris said skeptically as she stripped off her clothes. 

“No, but I’ve always wanted to.” Barley was as gung-ho as usual, maybe a little bit more. They’d grabbed a preemptive condom from his room and Kris was paranoid and shoved a towel in the door crack. 

“If someone comes home, it’s not like it’s going to be a secret when we come out together.” Barley reasoned.

“Yes, but hopefully they don’t figure it out before we get out of the bathroom.” 

They got under the water and between kisses and caresses, wiped off the paint that had spattered onto them. The tub in the bathroom was generously sized but Barley was big and Kris wasn’t small either, so they still took up most of the space. 

“You have so much paint in your hair,” Kris chided as she tried to scrub it out. “How did you even do that?” 

Barley didn’t answer as he was preoccupied with sliding his hands up and down her slick body and kissing her neck. He got to her ear and pulled at it with her teeth. That always made her loose the ability to think. Her fingers tensed around his head and a whimper squeaked out of her. He took that as a signal to spin her around and start using his fingers to get her really going. He’d gotten pretty adapt at knowing exactly what she liked. 

Kissing her shoulder, one of her breasts in his hand, he teased at her lips, barely touching them. When he’d discovered that teasing her slowly and making her wait for it was a sure fire way to make her go ballistic, he had never done it differently. Much to her frustration in the moment, but the pay off was so deliciously worth it. 

He delicately moved her lips apart and started applying more pressure, but not nearly enough. Only the amount that would make her whole body tense and send tiny pulsing fingers of pleasure through her. Her pulse quickened and soft little sighs came out of her mouth. 

“You don’t sound nearly as tortured as you should be,” Barley hummed in her ear and he twisted her nipple and only used one finger to slowly circle her opening. She grunted and her legs squeezed at his hand. He let go of her nipple and moved his other hand down as well. While he kept up the agonizingly slow circling motion, the other hand spread her lips more and he used the bare tip of his finger to nudge her clitoral hood. 

She bucked but he held her firm against him, she could feel his cock pressed up against the cleft of her ass. 

“How does that feel?” he asked slyly.

“You know I hate it,” Kris moaned. Her hands were gripping his neck and hair, she dug her nails in and pulled harder in retaliation. 

“I don’t think you do,” he sighed, clearly enjoying the feeling. 

“Just fuck me, please.” She could barely control her movements as the tension in her grew to an unbearable level.

“No, this more fun.” 

“Barley, please!”

“Nuh-uh.”  
“Fuck me now.”  
“Mmmmaybe, if I feel like it later.”  
“NOW!”  
“Not yet.”  
“I’m gonna rip your stupid elf ear off!”

“There it is!” 

Barley released her and spun her around again. He grabbed the condom and she put it on as fast as she could. He pushed her up against the wall and tried to get a grip on her ass and thighs. Even though Kris was out of her mind horny, she could sense this wasn’t going to go well. 

“Barley, I don’t think you can pick me up.”

“I pick you up all the time,” he said affronted.

“For like a few seconds, have you ever picked up a slippery fat girl and tried to fuck her?”

“I can do it, watch!” He grunted and hoisted her up and managed to slip into her which sent a tension breaking wave of pleasure through her that she desperately wanted, but the relief was short lived. In order to lift her up, he’d shifted his balance and quickly slipped, falling backward into the length of the tub with an incredibly loud thud. Kris felt her knee bang painfully up against the tub wall as she suddenly found herself on top of Barley. 

“Pffft HAHAHAHAHA!” Kris erupted into laughter. 

Barley was stunned, the breath knocked out of him and his head probably hit the tub pretty hard. Kris was wheeze laughing. He grunted and coughed as he regained the use of his lungs. 

“Oh my god, that was terrible! AHA! Holy shit, I can’t breathe…” Kris gasped for air but couldn’t stop laughing. 

“Ow.” Barley grunted. 

“Is your head okay?” Kris managed to say through giggle fits. 

“Erm… think so?”

“Is the tub okay?” she asked before breaking off into more peels of laughter. 

Barley was dazed and could only blink stupidly. 

She calmed down enough to look at Barley properly. She made sure to look at his pupils to see if they were dilated or not because that fall could have given him a concussion. He seemed to be okay. 

“Seriously are you okay?” she asked. 

Barley shook his head out, and pushed his hair out of his face. “Uh, yeah, I think so. That just stunned me for a bit.” 

“Who could have predicted this outcome? Surely not I, your hot and extremely smart girlfriend.” Kris lamented dramatically. 

“I should probably start listening to her.” 

“Yeah, probably.” Kris grinned and kissed him softly on the mouth. “You still have paint on your face.”

* * * 

Watching Kris paint had become one of Barley’s favorite things to do. She’d started on the mural a couple of days ago and while her work was slow, it engrossed her. He’d watched her draw before, but there was something about putting down color with a brush that completely changed her demeanor. Suddenly she fit in the world like she belonged to something bigger. It was like watching a bird do aerial dives in the sky, smooth and natural. Most of all she looked utterly happy and at peace. Not to mention she’d occasionally roll her hips and sway her butt from side to side as she danced to the music she was listening to. 

“It’s nice that you’re being quiet for once, but you do need to do your job at some point,” Shrub reminded him. 

“What?” Barley blinked and looked over at him. 

“Go do job or no pay.” Shrub said slowly and firmly. 

“Yeah yeah…” He grumbled as he stood and stretched a bit. He wanted to give Kris a quick kiss before having to organize things in the store room, but he’d learned the other day that Kris was basically in her own little world when she painted, especially with her noise canceling headphones on. She’d almost smeared a big blob of paint on the wall because he’d tried to get her attention at the wrong time. 

Organizing the store room and checking on orders had been one of the most tedious parts of his job before Kris had come along, but now it was even worse. Still things needed to get done and getting paid was nice. He shook himself out and got started. He’d gotten about half way through his work when Adele came into the store room. 

“I have some news that will be of interest to you, it also portends to your job as well.” 

“Yeah? What’s up?” he flopped the order sheet down on the table. 

“The Manticore would like to start an annual tournament, a historical festival, in the late summer months.”

Barley could only stare avidly as he took in the news. This was going to be fucking amazing. 

“I just got off the phone with her and she’s organizing vendors to attend. I will submit an application for a booth, but I presume we will be given a spot. There will also be a sword fighting competition as well as a hand to hand combat ring. I thought that might interest you.” 

Beyond amazing, the best thing to happen to this stupid town in decades, centuries even. “Fuck yes!” he couldn’t contain his excitement. 

“Language, young man.” Adele sighed. 

“Sorry! This is amazing! When is it exactly? Do I have to sign up for anything?” 

“In August and I assume things will become more fleshed out as the event draws nearer. It’s only mid-March, plenty of time for us to prepare.” 

“I’m gonna go tell Kris and Shrub!”

“Indeed.” 

He raced out into the storefront. Kris was taking a break and leaning over the counter, looking at Shrub with an amused expression. He was wearing her headphones, but since his horns prevented him from wearing them correctly, he had them upside down with the headband under his chin. 

“This song understands me on a spiritual and cellular level…” he said calmly as he barely bobbed his head to the beat. 

“Since you work in retail, I figured it would.” Kris grinned. 

“What song?” Barley instantly got distracted by Kris’s cleavage but also he didn’t like being out of the loop. 

“Nugget by Cake,” she said. 

“Is it… about food?” Barley guessed weakly. Most of Kris’s music was foreign to him, she’d played him stuff that she had hoped he’d like. She had been 100% correct, but he’d looked through her library once and she listened to just about every genre there was while Barley was firmly in the Rock and Metal camp. 

“Heh,” she snorted, “no it has nothing to do with food. It’s funny how you forget what words literally mean if you associate them with something completely different.” 

“I wanna hear!” He tried to grab the headphones, but Shrub anticipated this and leaned away on his stool. 

“How are you gonna wear these headphones, you pointy eared idiot?” Shrub sneered with little smile on his face. Sometimes Barley really wanted to punch Shrub.

“I’ll play it for you when we get home, you’ll probably like it too.” Kris offered while she fiddled with the ends of her hair. Did she know she was adorable? Why had he come out here? OH!

“Ah! I got distracted! The Manticore is going to organize a tournament this summer! There’s going to be sword fighting AND hand to hand combat! I’m so entering! OH! I wonder if they’ll do a thing for magic! Ian could compete! He’d win for sure! Ah! I can’t wait six months!” 

“And he’s back to being loud again…” Shrub whined. “Kris, would you replay that song and turn up the volume, please?”

“Sure thing,” she chuckled. 

* * *

Another month passed and all Kris did was spend time with Barley and his friends, and paint. The mural was coming along nicely, she’d gotten out of the ugly phase that happened every time she started and was getting close to finally being done. She didn’t know how long murals usually took, but she felt like she was going slow. She was probably adding too many details. She didn’t even know how much she would get paid for doing it. Or how she even could be paid, it’s not like she could except a check… 

She finally got to play Quests of Yore. She’d chosen to be a rogue as it was her favorite class. There was just something so satisfying about pretending to sneak around and attack enemies without them even realizing she was there. Barley was a barbarian, which was unsurprising and Shrub was a wizard. Another satyr named Genny rounded out the adventuring party and she was another fighter class. She was just as bad as Barley in terms of being way too into the role playing aspect. The DM, or actually QM for Quest Master, was a gnome named Wardus. Kris was a little thrown by how squeaky his voice was at first, but she got used to it. Apparently he and Barley would switch off at being the QM every other campaign and it was his turn. 

They played in the Lightfoot home, their game spread out over the dining room table. Kris had made snacks like she used to do for her old DnD group. This world didn’t have very good spices for nachos though, so she ended up just making treats. One minor thing she desperately missed about home was Mexican and Indian food. 

“Barley I’m not letting you walk into a wall of fire,” Wardus sighed.

“Shrub can put a protection spell on me, I’ll be fine!”

“I will not,” came Shrub’s clipped response. 

“You guys are in a straight hall way where the walls are top to bottom made of fire, there’s a door at the end right there.” Wardus pointed at the game board. “Just. Go. Through it.”

“It’s too obvious, that’s a trap if I’ve ever seen one!”

“Or maybe it’s just the only option you have!”

“What if I jump through and immediately take a healing potion?”

“You’d have to roll incredibly well, like only a nat 20 for me to let you have the mental and physical capacity to take a healing potion while actively being on fire.”

“I’ll keep it ready in my hand!” 

“You burned yourself on the brownies I made today and had to keep your hand under water for like 5 minutes. And that wasn’t even on fire.” Kris smirked. She had suspected that Barley was going to be one of those players that questions literally everything and it was amusing to watch Wardus get more and more frustrated with him. 

“I thought I Barley-proofed this campaign,” he sighed. 

“I don’t think anything can ever truly be Barley-proofed.” Shrub said dryly. 

“I’m going through the door!” Genny exclaimed, she had been getting more and more impatient as well.

“Make a dexterity saving roll,” Wardus said.

“AHA!” Barley pointed an accusatory finger and jumped out of his seat, jostling the whole table. 

Genny rolled, “Uhh, 12 plus 2 so 14.” 

“You pass through the door without anything happening.” 

Kris rolled a 10 but her modifier was +5 with her rogue class, Shrub rolled an 18. 

“Okay, Barley, just go through the door.” Wardus pleaded.

“Fiiiine,” he rolled and also got 10 but his modifier was only +1. 

“You hear a twang sound as your foot trips over a wire and the floor starts to give way underneath you and your companions. You fall deeper into the perilous depths of Hissvore’s lair!” Wardus cackled.

“I fuckin’ knew it.” Barley grumbled. 

* * * 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Started making it, had a breakdown. Bon Appetite!

Kris had been aware that this was a high that she would have to come down from sometime. The rush of being with Barley and the purpose and direction of the mural had sustained her for longer than she’d thought. As the mural came closer and closer to completion, however, Kris was left feeling uncertain about what her future would look like. The sword of Damocles that was Barley’s past attention span for relationships sat in the back of her mind and she also couldn’t escape the on going feelings of grief for her old life. She asked Laurel for a notebook so she could journal. Kris had gotten into the habit of writing down complex emotions when she was a teenager and she always felt a little better putting things into words. It was hard to find time for it during the day though, so she’d wait until Barley was asleep and slip out of bed. 

The first few pages of the journal were rough. Despite being deliriously happy with Barley during the day, at night it was hard to keep the homesickness at bay. Just to get it out of her system she wrote “I want to go home” over and over again. Even though she’d been here for over four months now it still felt like a dream. It had turned into a good dream, but it was still something her brain wouldn’t accept as real. Other times it felt too real, her anxiety would make her brain spiral into worst case scenarios. Barley breaking up with her, Laurel kicking her out and leaving her with literally nothing. She had no support system besides the Lightfoots. She half-heartedly thought maybe Shrub could help her, but that was a wild hope with little basis other than they got along well. Sometimes the fear would consume her so completely she was almost certain she was having panic attacks again. She used Barley’s trick of breathing and grounding herself in her body with the environment around her, but the process was exhausting. 

One night Kris was outside by the pool, she sat in her PJ’s with her feet in the water. She was coming down from an attack and she’d used the feeling of water on her skin to calm down. She’d managed to stop crying and now she was in the drained calm that came afterward. Her mind was completely empty as she kicked her feet and leaned against the pool ladder.

“Hey…” Barley’s voice came softly from behind. 

“Jesus!” Kris hissed and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. She reflexively clutched onto the ladder and didn’t relax as Barley came up next to her and sat down. She hadn’t ever wanted him to find her out here. Well at least not in this emotional state. 

He sat very close to her, their thighs pressed up against each other. He hadn’t put on shorts, just boxers, but he had put on a t-shirt. As much as Kris didn’t want him to see her like this, his presence was very soothing. She’d been a bit cold sitting in just her PJ’s and his warmth was at least welcome. Neither of them said anything for a while. 

“I know you get up in the middle of the night sometimes…” he said. It wasn’t a judgment, just a fact. 

Kris didn’t respond. 

“I figured if you wanted me to come with you, you would have woken me up, so I’d leave you alone.”

She couldn’t find words to say. What was there to say? 

“But… I’ve noticed your eyes are all puffy the mornings after…”

Kris swallowed hard and lowered her head against the pool ladder. She wanted to disappear, she hated having Barley see her like this. She was happy with him, so happy. She could see herself falling in love with him if she wasn’t already. How could she explain that her heart was in two different dimensions. 

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide stuff from me. I want to be there for you, I want you to know you can talk to me if you want. You’re important to me.” 

Kris shivered and she felt tears come back up. He was being so sweet, it made her feel like garbage for wanting to go home. She gripped onto the ladder harder and willed herself to shrivel out of existence. 

“Kris… please… talk to me,” he pulled a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

She let go of the breathe she’d been holding in, a shuddering gasping sound escaping her. She felt herself start to hyperventilate again. Before she could stop herself she turned around and clutched onto Barley. Burying her face into his chest, her fingers pulling up wads of his shirt. She sobbed uncontrollably as she pulled her body up against his. He embraced her immediately, holding her tight. She screamed silently into his chest, making the raw choking sounds that happen when you reach the peak of crying. Her whole body shook with pure grief. 

Barley didn’t say anything as she wailed, he only pet her hair and held her closely. After a while she stilled, able to calm down enough to start to focus on her breathing. She relaxed her hands and let them smooth out. She took in steadying breathes and tried to think of something to explain why she was like this.

“I miss them so much,” was all she could manage to say. 

She heard Barley wince and he held onto her tighter but he didn’t say anything. 

“… a-and I’m scared… I’m so scared, Barley.” She gulped down air and shivered. Kris didn’t think he’d respond to this either but after a moment he did.

“Scared of what?” he pulled back a bit and lifted her chin with his hand. Kris couldn’t look him in the eye. She felt hysterical laughter bubble up in her throat.

“I don’t exist here, Barley! I don’t have a bank account, I don’t have an ID, I don’t have anything except what came with me and what your mom has given me! I’m a piece of trans-dimensional flotsam just floating out here with almost nothing to hold on to! I’m a citizen of _nothing_ , if I loose you and your family I don’t have anywhere to go!” 

“Who says you’re going to loose me?”

“Ha! It’s gonna happen eventually, that’s just what happens to me. Every. Time. You’ll move on and I’ll just be stuck here! Or I’ll figure out how to move away, but I don’t know how I’d manage that when getting a job is going to be next to impossible since,” she was laughing without an ounce of joy in her voice, “all of my job experience is from a different dimension! Yes sir, here are my references, you’ll just have to make a inter-dimensional call and explain to a human that you’re a centaur asking for a job reference for what police reports will say is a missing person!” she cackled thinking about the absolute absurdity of her situation. 

“Kris, you aren’t going to loose me.” Barley stated firmly. 

“Sure, Jan.” Kris quipped and cackled even louder. “You don’t even know that’s a reference! You’ll never get the reference! Most of my brain is full of dumb pop culture and memes! It was useless in my own dimension and now it’s even worse! AHAHAHAHAAA! Hey! How you doin’? Well I’m doin’ just fine I lied I’m dying inside!” She sang the vine reference, voice cracking and couldn’t stop laughing. She didn't care that he'd never get it. 

Barley didn’t make anymore attempts to try to talk to her, he seemed to be waiting until she lost steam. She giggled incessantly, leaning back in his arms, her own flopping out limp at her sides. She looked up at the sky and finally started to slow down. “Eh heheheh heh… I’m so fucked… heheheh…” She sniffed as she took in the endless expanse of stars.

“I’m hungry!” she popped her head up, “Do you wanna go get burgers? You’ll, heheheh, you’ll have to drive cause, ha! I don’t have a license and also you’ll have to pay cause I don’t have any money! I don’t have enough money for chicken nugget! Ahahahaha!”

This is when Barley threw her into the pool.

She came up sputtering, completely caught off guard and disoriented. Barley was soon next to her though because he’d jumped in after her. He clamped his hands around her face firmly but not enough to hurt, he was just forcing her to look at him. 

“I’m sorry I did that, but I didn’t know another way to snap you out of it.” 

Kris could only cough and look into his concerned face. She was shivering uncontrollably now and she didn’t know if it was from the cold water or shock. 

“You are not going to loose me, okay? Even if _you_ decide to move on or whatever happens, I don’t care, I will never just leave you with nothing. You’re stuck with me. Understand?”

Kris blinked and tried to shake her head. 

“Hey, no, I’m not letting you do that. I want you to say it. Say I am not alone.” 

Kris sputtered again, her teeth chattering. Barley looked at her with determined expectancy. 

“I…” she started but then had to take a breathe, “I am not… alone.”

“Again.”

“I’m not alone.” 

“You’ve got me.”

“I’ve got you, but-”

“Ah! No buts! This isn’t about whether we’re a couple or not. You have me. Always.” 

Kris felt a wave of love so strong she nearly choked. That was it. She loved him. 

He kissed her on the forehead. “Now let’s get you inside.” 

She nodded and Barley helped her out of the pool. Coming out Kris could see that the lights in the house were on. Barley let her set the pace as she hobbled to the back door. She covered her chest, shivering and sopping wet. Barley was wet from the mid chest down. They came into the kitchen and both Laurel and Colt were standing there in their pajamas and robes. Laurel rushed over to them. 

“Oh honey, what happened?” 

Kris blushed trying to cover herself up more, she was wearing PJ’s but they were small and she was not wearing a bra. Laurel and Colt must of heard her shouting and laughing, she felt awful and embarrassed. 

“Hey Mom, can you make her some tea? I’ll get a towel. She’s having a rough night.” Barley said before heading off down the hall. 

“Sure, Barley. Kris! Oh what’s wrong? We heard…” 

Barley came back very quickly and wrapped a big beach towel around her. “Leave her be for now, Mom. Just get her some tea.” 

Laurel looked very worried but nodded and started to do so. 

“Hey Colt, can we start paperwork for Kris to be a resident of New Mushroomton?” Barley asked as he guided Kris over to the kitchen stool and had her sit down. “Or just get her on the map in terms of records?” 

Colt looked taken aback and a little lost in this situation, but having been given something to do he straightened. “Yeah, sure Barley. That’s a real good idea. I’ll start the process in the mornin’ once I get to the station.” 

Barley turned to Kris and pulled her hair out from under the towel. “It’s gonna be okay,” he said and started rubbing the sides of her arms up and down in an attempt to warm her up. She was still shaking pretty badly. Barley continued by wrapping the towel around her more and trying to dry her off. Kris was embarrassed to look at him directly but in the glances she stole he looked determined and serious. 

“Here’s your tea, hon.” Laurel gave her a steamy mug. Kris took it gratefully and held it up to her face inhaling the smell and absorbing the warmth. 

“I’m gonna need to take down some of her information before I get inta work.” Colt said, he had gotten a legal pad and a pen.

“Give her a minute, Colt.” Barley cautioned as he rubbed Kris’s back. 

“No, it’s okay,” Kris said quietly. The towel had helped her stop shaking, but the tea was really helping her calm down. “What do you need to know?” 

“Full name, date of birth, species, age, height… hmmm some of these are gonna be tricky since you aren’t from around here…” 

“That’s a lot of questions, maybe give her a sec-” Barley started.

“Kristen Alice Beneventi, June 20th 19XX, human, 23, 5 foot 3 inches…” She answered and took a sip of tea.

“Whoa, I can’t believe I didn’t know your full name…” Barley said with chagrin. 

“Oh, you’re birthday’s in June? That’s only a few months away.” Laurel said warmly. Kris smiled weakly. 

“How do you spell that last name?”

“B, e, n, e, v, e, n, t, i.”

“Now, I don’t know if this will help anything considering, but birthplace and last residence?”

“I was born in Tucson, Arizona and my last… home was Salt Lake City, Utah.” 

“You-tah!” Barley snapped his fingers. “So that’s how you say it. When Ian and I found your student ID we called it Uh-tah.” 

Kris could only smile a bit and nod softly. She was feeling a lot warmer now and exhaustion was taking over. 

“Well those are all the questions I can think you can answer for now…” Colt said, mulling over the answers she’d given him. 

“I should get you to bed,” Barley said putting a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Barley can I talk to you for a moment?” Laurel asked, clearly still worried and confused. 

“I don’t want to leave her, Mom.”

“It’s okay,” Kris mumbled. “I have tea… Tea is good.” 

Barley caressed her cheek before he and Laurel walked away. 

* * *

“Barley, what the hell happened? We heard her shouting and then laughing and not good laughing she sounded _bad_. And then the splash and both of you are soaking wet!” Laurel was whispering but her tone conveyed that she’d rather not be. “Did she jump in the pool? Oh don’t tell me she was trying to-”

“No! No, I threw her in.”

“Barley!”

“She was loosing it, you heard her! I thought she would eventually calm down on her own, but she wasn’t so I… threw her in the pool. It worked, didn’t it?” 

“Why was she so upset? What did you do?”

Barley rolled his eyes, “Nothing, well I mean, I’m the one that brought her here inadvertently. She’s…” He took a beat to think. “She’s homesick and lost and scared and grieving. She doesn’t have anybody but us. She’s scared of loosing us… well, me… And I think she’s been holding in a lot stress for a while, she doesn’t like asking for help. She lost her entire life and she hasn’t talked to anybody about it.” 

Laurel’s expression softened as Barley explained. She looked back at the kitchen, wriggling her hands. “Poor thing… I should have realized…” 

“She needs to have roots, something to hold on to. And independence, I know you’re willing to help her out for as long as she needs, but I think she feels powerless.”

“Oh look at my boy being so emotionally mature,” Laurel pinched his cheeks. 

“Mom, really?”

“Let me feel proud of you for a second, it doesn’t happen often.” 

“Gee thanks.” 

“So what can I do to help?”

Barley sighed, “I dunno yet. We’ll see if Colt can help her get an ID of some kind. She needs to have her own bank account, make her own money, but that’ll probably take time.” 

“You’re in love with her, huh?”

Barley froze, was he? No that was ridiculous, he was feeling responsible for her because she was here because of his actions. He was extremely fond of her and seeing her this distraught had pulled at something inside of him he’d never felt for anybody before, but no. He shook is head, “I’ve known her for like four months, mom.”

“And that’s a looong time for you. How long did you last with that… oh what was his name… Taryn! That was three months and he broke up with you and you wouldn’t leave your room for a week! That’s the longest you’ve ever gone and Kris is past that!” 

“Your really basing this off of that?” 

“He was your first love!” 

“He- ugh,” Barley snorted with exasperation. “Mom, I’m not talking about this at 3 am in the morning. I’m gonna put Kris in bed.” Barley waved her off and went back to the kitchen. 

Kris was still on the stool, clutching the now empty mug up to her face still. She was hunched over, body slowly drooping as sleep started to take her. Barley felt his heart wobble in his chest looking at her. She looked so small and tired. Barley wanted to lift her up into his arms and take her to his bed to sleep, make sure she was warm and safe. That wasn’t love that was just… Protective instincts. Who wouldn’t want to make sure she was okay after what she’d been through? 

“Hey, let’s go to bed,” he said gently, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She started a bit and then nodded, “okay.” 

He got her down to his room and then out of her wet PJ’s. She started shivering again once she was naked. Barley quickly got her under the covers and then went to his closest and pulled out more blankets and piled them on her. He turned off the lights and was about to crawl into bed too until he realized his clothes were also soaked. He hadn’t even really noticed. He stripped and didn’t bother to put on a dry pair of boxers, he’d already turned the lights off. 

He slid next to Kris as gently as he could. She murmured his name, so he scooped her head up to put up against his chest and made sure the blankets still covered all of her. She sighed and melted into his side. Her skin was still cool to the touch and he was sure his was too, but together they would warm up quickly. Kris was already breathing slowly and seemed to have dozed off. Good. 

Now if Barley’s heart would stop pounding that would be great. She’d scared him back there. He was pretty sure he watched her go through a nervous breakdown and he had hated how helpless he’d felt watching her unravel. The thing that hurt the most was the absolute certainty she’d had in thinking he’d be the one to end things. The pain in her voice when she’d said how that’s how every relationship she’d been in had ended. He had that same kind of pain, like he wasn’t good enough for anybody to actually stick around. That’s how Taryn had made him feel when they’d broken up. 

Taryn… that name used to bring up pain. Now he didn’t feel anything, it was just a name again. When had that happened? Kris wriggled against him as she repositioned her arm. She sank back into him, nuzzling her face into his chest. His mom was right, wasn’t she? Fuck. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to poke at unresolved trauma! All the cool kids are doing it. 
> 
> I'm just going to get more loosey goosey with these summaries, cause I don't care.

Barley woke up to Kris coughing. She had moved away from him in the night and her back was turned to him, her breathing was ragged. Barley put his hand on her shoulder and her skin was hot to the touch. Oh no. Her coughing fit subsided and she rolled over towards him, she continued to sound like she was having a hard time breathing. He quickly put the back of his hand on her forehead, she definitely had a fever. He’d really fucked it up this time. 

He crawled out of bed as stealthily as he could so he didn’t jostle her around too much. He slapped on whatever clothes he could find and raced upstairs. Unfortunately it was already afternoon, almost two, so nobody else was home. He paced around the kitchen anxiously. _Fuck, fuck, fuck_ , what was he supposed to do? Mom. 

He grabbed the phone and dialed her cell phone. She didn’t pick up. He dialed her work number. One of her co-workers answered and Barley had a hard time forming a coherent sentence for a second.

“Hello! Ummm… yeah, uhhh, sorry. I’m Barley Lightfoot, can I speak with my mom, Laurel?”

“She’s in a meeting, I’ll tell her to call you back, okay?” the coworker said cheerfully. 

“Yeah… okay…” he deflated at first but right before the phone hung up he blurted “It’s an emergency so please tell her I called!”

“Oh! Oh, okay. Are you all right?” The voice sounded concerned now.

“Yeah I’m fine, it’s my girlfriend, she’s got a fever and I don’t know what to do.”

“Okay, have you checked her temperature? Given her some water?”

“No… those are good ideas…”

“I’ll go tell your mom what’s wrong and she’ll call you back, okay?” 

“Yeah…” He hung up. 

Why was this freaking him out so much? It's not like he'd never dealt with a fever before. He'd taken care of Ian when he'd get a cold or something. Not a lot because his Mom was always the one to take charge, but he wasn't completely clueless. He was normally pretty good in high stress situations, he felt like he’d handled last night all right. Turns out he’d just made things worse. This was all his fault, if he hadn’t tossed her in the pool she would probably be fine. She would have calmed down eventually. Why was he such an idiot? A big dumb screw up who only pretended to know what he was doing. 

He clutched at his face, trying to keep from falling apart. He’d just make it worse if he panicked. Get her water, check her temperature. That was a good start. He scrambled upstairs and frantically looked for a thermometer. He practically tore the bathroom apart looking through the mirror cabinet and the drawers, but he finally found it. He raced back down and quickly filled a glass with water. He spilled quite a bit as his hands were shaking. 

Getting back into his room Barley’s heart constricted seeing Kris laying there, face distorted and her breathing labored. He at least had the good sense to check her temperature before giving her the water. 101.5, was that really bad or just a normal fever? He didn’t know. 

“Kris? Can you hear me? I’m going to give you some water.” Barley gently put his hand under her head to raise it up enough to drink. She moaned and her breath hitched a bit. “Barley…?” she mumbled. 

“Yeah I’m here. You need to drink water, you’ve got a fever.” 

A low huff only came out of her mouth, but her eyes were open a little. Barley put the glass up to her lips and tipped it a bit. She weakly drank a few gulps before needing a break to breathe. He eventually got her to drink the whole glass. 

He lowered her head back down and she mumbled something incoherent. She looked so pale and her hair was an absolute mess. It had been wet with pool water when they’d gone to bed. He tried to move it away from her face and then remembered it would probably be a good idea to put a cool towel on her forehead.   
Before he could do that though, the phone upstairs rang. He took the stairs three at a time and got to it as quickly as he could.

“Mom!” he answered.

“Hey, sweetie. Kris has a fever?”

“Yeah 101.5, is that bad? Does she need to go to a doctor? What do I do?” Barley voice was cracking, he was barely keeping it together. 

“That’s a low grade fever, hon, she should be okay at home.” Barley felt a sigh of relief escape him. “She needs fluids and to be kept cool, don’t put too many blankets on her. Check her temperature every few hours. If it gets worse you can put her in a bath of lukewarm water. Oh, ice cream is good too. Are you okay? You don’t sound good.” 

“Ummm, I- I don’t know. I’m wigged out.”

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetie. It doesn’t sound that bad. Just do what I said and she should be fine. I don’t think we have ice cream in the house, so I’ll go to the store when I leave work and pick some up along with some fever meds.”

“This is all my fault…” he groaned.

“You couldn’t have predicted she’d get sick, and it sounds like she’ll be just fine after some rest. This isn’t your fault, hon.” 

Barley couldn’t reply. 

“I have to go back to work now. It’s going to be fine, Barley. Trust me.” 

“Okay…” 

“I love you, I’ll see you after work.”

“Thanks, mom…” 

Barley hung up the phone and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. Why was he so panicked? He brought his knees up and huddled his head against them and tried to breathe. His mom had said it was just a low grade fever, Kris was going to be fine. He just needed to make sure she could get better.   
He stood up and got a towel to put on her forehead. He wet it in his bathroom and carefully put it on her. She still had all the blankets he’d put on her from last night, so he took them all off expect one thin one. He noticed the sheet was clinging to her body, she’d been sweating all night. He took the sheet off and shifted her as gently as he could to the other side of the bed. Kris only grumbled half words and barely moved. He put the thin blanket back on her but put the sheet into the wash. 

The phone rang upstairs again. He was tempted to just let it ring, but he’d done all he could for Kris at the moment, so might as well answer. 

“Hello?” He was expecting it to be his mom again.

“I get that you’re infatuated with each other, but you really can’t skip work just because you can’t stop looking into each others eyes or whatever.” Shrub’s voice came from the other end. Barley grimaced, he’d totally forgotten he had a shift today. 

“Fuck I forgot…” he sighed.

“Suuure you did,” Shrub drawled.

Barley tried to collect himself enough to deal with his antagonistic friend. “Look, Kris is sick, she’s got a fever and she had a bad night anyway. We were up at like 3 am last night.”

“Is her body finally rejecting you as a person?” Shrub quipped.

“Fuck off, man…”

“Whatever, if it’s only Kris that’s ‘sick’ I don’t see any reason why you can’t still come into work.” 

“I’m not leaving her.” 

“Are you seriously trying to get out of work cause your girlfriend has a cold?”

“It’s not a cold you _asshole_! She’s sweating through the sheets and I can tell she’s having trouble breathing! I am not leaving her! You can get Adele to fire me if you want!” 

Shrub was silent on the line as Barley tried to hold back tears. He was shaking he was so scared. Why was he so scared? There were a few more moments of silence as Barley tried to not hyperventilate and Shrub seemed very taken aback by his outburst. 

“Has she seen a doctor?” Shrub asked, his tone had shifted to hesitant concern. 

“No, I just woke up and she was burning up. My mom says it’s just a low grade fever but I… I don’t know, something feels really wrong. She looks awful, she’s incoherent, and her breathing… Fuck, I don’t know what to do.” He sniffed and slumped against the wall again, thumping onto the floor. 

“If your mom says she’ll be all right, I’m sure she will be.” Shrub tried half-heartedly to be reassuring.

“I know, I just-” He squeezed his eyes shut and unwelcome tears came. “It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have thrown her in the pool! I’m such a fucking idiot! Why can’t I think before I do something! Now she’s… fuck, I hate this-” Barley could feel his chest tighten as the panic attack set it. Just like the ones he used to get after his dad died. His dad… sick in the hospital… now Kris… “She can’t die, fuck I can’t loose her, I can’t I can’t I can’t!” His heart was pounding so fast it hurt, he sobbed uncontrollably.

There was silence as Barley cried, he couldn’t think straight anymore. 

“Is your mom home with you?” Shrub asked after a while. Barley was surprised he was still on the line. He tried to get his breathing under control before he answered. 

“N-no, I’m alone.” 

“I’ll try to get somebody to your house, your mom or Ian. I can call Ian’s school and say there’s a family emergency.”

“No, it’s fine,” Barley gulped, trying desperately to get himself under control. “I’m fine, I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t sound like it, bud.” 

“No, I’m fine, really. Don’t- don’t call anybody.” He hung up. 

He spent the next while trying to ground himself but it felt exceptionally hard. It had been a long time since he’d done it and his brain kept spiraling into thoughts of Kris in the hospital, tubes streaming out of her. Her face so gaunt and pale she looked more like a corpse than a person. A small part of his brain knew this was irrational. She didn’t have cancer, she wasn’t his dad, but panic had overridden any chance of him actually absorbing that logic. He was stuck slumped in the hallway, thoughts spiraling out of control. 

A door opened and closed and Barley was snapped back into his body. How long had he been sitting here?

“Barley! Oh honey!” His mom came rushing over. 

“Why aren’t you at work?” He asked weakly. Had he really been sitting here for that long? 

“Your friend from work got a hold of me, he said you were having an anxiety attack.”

“That asshole…” Barley swore under his breathe. “You didn’t need to come home, I’m fine, see?” 

“Sweetie, you’re collapsed in the hall and you’ve obviously been crying.”

“Been crying, past tense, I’m fine now.” 

“Oh, okay I’ll just leave then.”

“No stay…” 

Laurel smiled sympathetically at her son and licked her thumbs to start to wipe his face. “My brave boy, sometimes it’s okay to be scared, you know.” 

“I hate it.”

“Tough tits, kid. That’s life.”

That made him laugh a bit. 

“Now let’s see how Kris is doing, hm?”

He nodded.

She’d gotten worse. When they went down to see her, Barley could tell from the stairs that Kris had already started sweating through the sheets again. Her breathing was just as raspy and labored as it had been before. 

“Oh Barley, why didn’t you say she looked so bad!” Laurel rushed over to the bed and found the thermometer on the night stand. She took her temperature. 103.

“Her fever is spiking, we should put her in a tub, try to keep it from getting any higher.” Laurel removed the now dry towel from Kris’s head. Her face had visible perspiration on it and it would contort every once in a while as her breathing shuddered. 

“Can you carry her up to the tub?” His mom asked.

“I think so.”

“Do that, I’ll get her water, she needs to keep drinking fluids or she’ll get dehydrated.”

Barley carefully wrapped the blanket around Kris and lifted her up into his arms. She was heavy, he would have to take it slow, but he’d get her up to that tub. Kris was completely unconscious and she reeked of sweat. Oddly, Barley’s break down earlier was making it easier to handle this now. It was like his body was out of panic for the day. His mother’s presence and directions were also a balm. He guessed he’d have to thank Shrub at some point. 

After a few breaks, he made it all the way upstairs to the bathroom. He laid Kris carefully down in the tub and pulled the blanket away. He made sure the water felt lukewarm to cool before stopping the tub and letting the water fill up around her. He positioned himself half way in the tub, one foot in with her, his body hunched over her. He held her head up, so she didn’t end up underwater. 

His mom came in with two glasses of water. “We need to get her to drink these, here,” she handed one to him. Barley repeated what he’d done earlier that day. 

“Hey… Kris, can you drink this?” She didn’t respond. He rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “Kris, please wake up. Just for a bit.” 

She moaned quietly and coughed. It sounded wet and phlegmy. Barley waited until she was done coughing and then put the glass to her lips again. She started to drink, he gave a little sigh of relief. 

“I’m so sorry, Barley. I didn’t think it was this bad.” Laurel said sitting on the lip of the tub. 

Barley could only swallow dryly and keep giving Kris a steady stream of water to sip. 

“I hate to say it, but this looks like pneumonia.”

“What does that mean?” Barley looked up at his mom, tilting the glass back up. 

“She’ll need antibiotics most likely and she’ll be sick for a while. We should get her to see a doctor as soon as possible.”

“Does she need to go to the hospital?” He tried to keep the panic out of his voice. So much for that brief window of calm. 

“Maybe? She’s young, so she might be just fine.” That didn’t feel reassuring at all. 

“I should never have thrown her in the pool…”

“Honey, you can’t get pneumonia from getting wet. You didn’t do this, sometimes people just get sick.”

“But…”

“Hey, look at me.” 

Barley sighed and looked back at his mom. Her face was empathetic but determined. “I know what this is like. It fucking sucks, you feel powerless. You think if you could only do things better, things could get better, he’ll get…” she trailed off. “But it doesn’t work like that, some things are just out of our control. It’s one of the shittiest lessons life has given me, but it is what it is.” She held onto Barley’s knee and squeezed. “I will say I don’t think Kris is going to die. Maybe she’ll end up in the hospital, maybe she won’t, but she’s young enough to live through this.”

That did help Barley feel better, but not much. He looked back down at Kris’s pale face, her lips were chapped. He held the water up again and she kept drinking. 

“Still don’t think you love her?” Laurel said in a gently teasing tone. 

Barley gave a stifled laugh as he tried not to cry again. 

“Boy, her hair is a mess…”

“I don’t think the pool did it any favors last night.” Barley muttered. 

“Once the water comes up higher, I’ll help you wash it. She’s going to be bed ridden for a while I think.”

Barley grimaced and nodded. 

Laurel gently took care of Kris’s hair as Barley made sure her face stayed above water and the shampoo didn’t get in her eyes. A part of him was really weirded out with the fact that his mom was present while his girlfriend was completely naked, but the situation was what it was. After Laurel conditioned and brushed out Kris’s hair, she looked much better. The cool water had also seemed to have helped a lot. Her breathing was still labored however and her cough wasn’t going away any time soon. 

“I’ll see if I can get a doctor to make a house call, otherwise we’ll need to take her in to a hospital.” Laurel said drying her hands off. Barley was trying to get Kris to drink the second glass of water. 

Ian’s voice came from downstairs, “Mom, are you home already?”

“I’ll go talk to your brother,” Laurel said. “Get her dried off and back into bed.” 

“She soaked through the sheets, I should put new ones on.”

“I can do that, you take care of her.”

“Kay… thank you, Mom.” Barley said as she left the bathroom. 

He tried to get Kris to finish the last of the water, but she had another coughing fit. He gave up and focused on drying her off. His mind flashed back to the last time he’d been in this tub with Kris. He’d give anything to have that back, concussion and all. He closed his eyes and took in a breath, reaffirming what his mom had said. Kris was young, she could live through pneumonia, she’d be fine. She was going to be fine. 

Trying to dry an unresponsive person off in a wet tub was pretty awkward, but he did the best he could and wrapped her up in the blanket again. Carrying her back this time felt a little easier for some reason. Ian was downstairs in the kitchen. He rushed over when he heard Barley coming.

“Mom told me what’s happening, can I help? Maybe I can try like a healing spell or something?” 

Barley gave a brief chuckle, he had the best family. “Healing spells are for injury not sickness, but thank you, Ian. Really.” 

Ian nodded and let him go. 

His mom was just barely finishing putting on a new fitted sheet on the bed. Barley laid Kris down, making sure to keep her wet hair out from under her. 

“I thought a girl would help you be less messy, but I guess Kris is as bad as you are.” Laurel lamented as she kicked the laundry on the floor. 

Barley smirked, “she makes me take dishes up to the kitchen and clean them.” 

“It’s better than nothing,” she sighed. 

* * *

They were able to get a doctor to come to the house. Kris did have pneumonia, the doctor prescribed her pills, plenty of bed rest, fluids, and a humidifier in the room would help as well. Barley was told to limit his direct contact with her, because pneumonia was contagious until the antibiotics kicked in, but he didn’t care. He lay beside her in bed at night, holding her hand and making sure she was still breathing. Occasionally his body would drift off to sleep, but only for a few hours at a time. 

Shrub came by the house two days after Kris first got sick. 

“Here,” he said, giving Barley a little bundle tied with string. “It’s from Adele, she says it’s a special blend of tea to help with sickness.”

“Oh… thank you, I mean thank her for me, and… and you, you helped me back there…” Barley was exhausted.

“You look like absolute pegasus piss.” Shrub smirked.

“Thanks…”

His friend’s face softened, “I’m sorry I’m an asshole sometimes, it’s a side effect of having lost my soul to the retail gods.” 

A short laugh sounded in Barley’s chest, “It’s fine… normally I don’t care, it’s just-” he grunted, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.

“The love of your life is really sick.” Shrub said matter of factly. 

Barley felt his heart clench at those words. It felt absurd, but… right. “We haven’t even known each other that long,” he shook his head.

“Oh, come on. I have to be around you two all the time. You’re perfect for each other. She’s manic enough to keep up with you but sensible enough to stop you from doing really stupid shit and you boost her up when she doesn’t believe in herself. You adore each other. It’s like watching two puzzle pieces make out, it’s disgusting.”

Barley could only clench and unclench his fists and stare into nothing. Was it really that obvious to everyone?

“You don’t have to come back into work for bit. Adele said she’d give you a break while Kris is sick. You aren’t getting paid leave though.”

Barley only grunted, he didn’t really care. 

“I’ll pop in occasionally,” Shrub rubbed his neck looking sheepish. “I… care about her too. She’s- she’s been really nice to have around the shop. I’m going to miss her while she’s gone.” 

They shared an brief silence of mutual anxiety before Shrub awkwardly patted Barley on the shoulder and left. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barley's having a time.

Barley went back down to Kris. She still looked awful, maybe a little worse as her eyes had become sunken with dark circles. Her fever was under control though, it seemed to have peaked on that first day. He prayed it stayed that way. Her breathing hadn’t much improved, but at least she was breathing. The doctor had said she’d have a few more rough days before the pills kicked in and then she would start to get better. They were confident she’d be fine eventually and have a recovery time of a week or two. 

Barley spent his days sitting in his room caring for Kris. He refused to leave her side and Laurel brought down all of his and Kris’s meals. He’d taken to opening her laptop and playing her music. He’d found a playlist she’d labeled “Favorite Songs”. She seemed to favor electronic music the most but she had at least one song from every major genre. Some of the songs were really weird, just repeating voices and atonal sounds to a beat. Barley felt like he was getting a glimpse of her private self she didn’t show him. Or maybe they just hadn’t been together long enough for her to show it. He wondered if she had any stories that went with the songs. What made them her favorites? He tried to make a list in his head of questions to ask her when she could talk to him again. He’d give anything to have her open her eyes and smile at him.

One day he had her music on and was zoning out as he traced circles on her palm. The song playing was a classical piece and a flute was playing over the orchestra. Kris’s breath shuddered all of a sudden as she grumbled and her eyes fluttered. 

“Mom… where’s mom…” Kris seemed to be having a fever dream. “I want my mom…” she stilled as the flute subsided and other instruments played. Tears were streaming down her face. 

Barley had never really heard Kris mention her mom. She seemed like she wanted to avoid talking about her life before. She was happy to talk about her world in general terms, but not specifics about her family. Besides the conversation they’d had about her dad, Barley only knew she had a little sister and that was it.   
He felt his heart break watching her fevered face look so confused and lost. How could she be with him when he had done this to her. He’d brought her here, even if he’d never meant for it to happen, it had happened.

The woodwinds swelled again and Barley could barely see her mouth say “mommy”. Was it the music? Was it this song? He tapped the arrow key to go to the next song. Her face smoothed out almost instantly. He made a mental note to avoid that track from now on. 

With very little to do besides sit by her bedside, Barley stewed over his guilt. He didn’t think he’d ever get over it, not entirely. He felt selfish too, for getting all the benefit of her being here, while she was stuck feeling powerless and homesick. And now this… Barley would completely understand if Kris finally came to her senses one day and ended things. Maybe the only reason she hadn’t already was because she was dependent on him. That thought made him feel like a monster. Maybe he should make sure she gets on her feet, gets a place of her own and a job she likes. Make sure she’ll be okay and then let her go. The idea was a knife through his heart, but if it was better for Kris, he’d do it. 

Barley was vaguely aware that his mom and Ian would come down to check on Kris and him. He didn’t really pay attention to them. If food was put in front of his face, he’d eat it. About five days into his vigil, he felt a swift kick to his leg. 

“Ow!” He jolted. 

“Now do I have your attention?” he mom said with exasperation. 

“What? Why did you do that?”

“I’ve said your name like ten times now. You need to get out of this room.” 

“No, I’m not leaving her.”

“What do you think is gonna happen? She’s sleeping and her fever is going down, you can come upstairs for an hour or two. Maybe even go _outside_.” Laurel gasped that last part. 

“I’m fine, I’ll stay.”

“Nope! Not taking no for an answer, come on!” She pulled at him, she was surprising strong and yanked him into a standing position. “Up up up!” she pushed him towards the stairs. If Barley wasn’t so tired, he would have resisted a lot more, but he was so drained he just feebly pushed back until ultimately letting her have her way. 

“Now, you’re going to sit at the table and talk to your brother and eat some lunch. And then I’m going to make you take a walk around the block.” Laurel pushed her son into a chair and patted his back. Ian was at the table, eating a sandwich and doing his homework. 

“How’s Kris?” he asked. 

“Still alive,” Barley mumbled and planted his face straight down onto the table. “No thanks to me…”

“Barley, how many times do I have to tell you, you didn’t make her sick! It’s just life!” His mother seemed to be loosing her patience with his mental state. 

“But she’d be fine if I hadn’t brought her here…” he muttered. 

“Nobody brought her here, and if anyone is to blame it’s me,” Ian tried to reason.

“But I made you do the spell, you were going to stop but I pushed you and now she’s stuck here with me… she deserves to be happy in her own world… I ruined her life…”

Ian and Laurel shared a worried exchange. 

“Has she told you that?” Laurel asked.

“No…” 

“Barley, I could have refused to do the spell, you didn’t make me do it. You’re giving yourself too much credit in this.” Ian chimed in. 

“But… it’s my fault…” Barley was so tired, he just wanted to go back downstairs and curl up next to Kris and wait until she woke up. Then she could tell him to fuck off and he’d do that next. 

Laurel almost slammed a glass of water next to his head. “Drink that.” He hesitated. “I will body slam you, if you don’t drink some water.”

He sighed, sat up and downed the glass. She filled it up again and made him drink that too. Next was a sandwich that she watched him eat with motherly ferocity. “Okay, now we’re going to go on a walk. Put some shoes on.” 

He gave into her demands and was soon glumly trudging beside his mom through the neighborhood. The sun hurt his eyes and he had a splitting headache. 

“Barley, believe me I know what this is like more than you do, but you can’t stop taking care of yourself. You won’t be any use to Kris and more importantly you won’t be any use to yourself. I’m very familiar with self-destructive thought patterns and they help no one. It doesn’t help Kris for you to beat yourself up over some perceived fault. It doesn’t fix the problem either. Understand?”

Barley was only half listening, but the bit about not fixing the problem stuck in his head. How could he fix the problem? He had thought he’d exhausted his resources for a loophole in the dimensional portal spell but maybe he hadn’t tried hard enough. Maybe there was something else he could do. 

“Are you listening to me?” Laurel sighed.

He’d go back to the library, try to find the spot where he had found the spell in the first place. 

“Barley, hey!” his mom stopped him by pulling on his shoulder and turning him to face her. 

“I have to go somewhere,” he said and started to walk back to the house, but his mom caught his arm.

“You are spiraling, I can tell. Stop and look at me.” Laurel said firmly. Barley yanked his arm away and started running. He only heard his mother’s frustrated groan as he booked it to Guinie 2. As he got to her though, he realized his keys were inside, he pivoted, but Laurel was there in front of him already. 

“Listen to me!” she glared.

“No! I have an idea, I can fix this! I just need to check the library.” He made to move past her, but she made a turning side step facing away from him while grabbing his arm and deftly flung him to the ground. He slammed down, the air knocked out of his lungs.

“You’re not the only one who can throw people,” she smiled smugly down at him.

Barley coughed. 

“You are blaming yourself for things you can’t control.”

He didn’t reply.

“Would you want Kris to do this? Would you want her to hate herself and convince herself that everything bad that happens in other peoples lives is her fault? Would you want _Ian_ to do that?”

“No…”

“So why are you doing it to yourself?”

“I don’t know…” He clutched his face in his hands. He didn’t want to feel this way. He wished he could go back in time to stop himself from ever making Ian do that spell. He’d never have met Kris and she wouldn’t be stuck here. He hated that thought and longed for it at the same time. 

Laurel crouched down and took her sons hands away from his face. “You can’t control everything, all you can do is decide how you’ll act once things happen and right now you’re acting like an absolute imbecile.”

“You’re like a mean Gandalf…” Barley squinted at his mom. 

“Sure, kid,” she shook her head and helped him up. 

* * *

When Kris came to it felt like a weight was sitting on her chest. She coughed and she could feel mucus sloshing around in her throat and lungs. It was hard to get a breath in. She vaguely remembered things happening to her, but she didn’t know exactly what or how much time had passed. As her vision came into focus she noticed she was still in Barley’s bed. She remembered the pool and answering Colt’s questions and then going to bed… then it all got fuzzy. She knew Barley had been there, he was always there when her mind was able to catch glimpses through the haze. 

Kris looked around for him, but he wasn’t here this time. She saw movement at the top of the stairs though. “Barley…” she mumbled weakly. Her throat was clogged up with phlegm and it was hard to get words out. It wasn’t Barley coming down the stairs though, it was Ian. 

“Ian?” her voice felt far away. 

“Kris, are you awake?” Ian sounded surprised as he walked towards her. 

“Mmmm,” she swallowed and nodded a bit. Her whole body was sore, it felt like she’d been pummeled with ten thousand hammers. 

“Barley’s going to be so mad, Mom made him go on a walk with her. Ummm, do you need like water? Or something?” 

She blinked sleepily and moved her head up and down. 

“Okay, ummm, yeah,” Ian seemed unpracticed at this. “Oh! I’ll go get a straw!” 

Kris felt herself sink back into a dreamy lull, Ian was back in what felt like a second. “Here,” he said and put a straw up to her lips. She took it and started to drink but a coughing fit hit her and she had to hack and wheeze for a bit. Eventually she got the straw back. 

Ian sat down on the edge of the bed, holding the glass for her. She was too tired to thank him, or talk at all. 

“You have uh, pneumonia,” he was looking nervous again, like he did when she first met him. At the news of her illness she grunted, _fuckin’ figures_ she thought. Life really loved to slap her down hard when she was high, didn’t it? 

“You’ll be okay though, doctor said you would be.” 

When had a doctor seen her? How long had she been in this bed? She must have been making a sour face because Ian looked amused. 

“Barley’s been taking care of you,” she nodded at this. “He hasn’t left your side until just now.” 

Barley… she loved Barley. He was so good, the best thing about all of this, the best thing in her life period. She smiled feebly, slowing drinking from the straw. 

“He’s… not doing well. I mean, not sick like you, obviously, heh. But not good. He blames himself for you getting sick.”

Kris’s face screwed up in confusion, how was that any of Barley’s fault? 

“I know! But he’s convinced. He uh… actually thinks he ruined your life.” Ian winced. 

Her face distorted even more in confusion before she started vehemently shaking her head from side to side in a slow tired way. The straw popped out of her mouth as she did this. 

“I knew you didn’t think that…” Ian smiled at her and put the glass on the night stand. “Can you tell him that?”

She nodded. How could he have possibly ruined her life? He’d saved her life. She would have broken down way sooner and probably spent months in a depressive hole without Barley. He was the flotation device she was clinging to in this storm. As soon as she could she’d tell him that. She’d tell him she loved him. Or was that too much? It felt very early to say that, not because it couldn’t be true, but because it might freak him out. She had a habit of freaking out her partners too soon or being too clingy. 

She vaguely heard Ian say something else to her, but she was already fading back into sleep. 

* * *

His mom had made him go back with her and finish the walk around the block. Barley grudgingly admitted that she had a point. If Ian was acting like he was, he’d have called him an imbecile too. Just not to his face. Placing the fault anywhere didn’t help the situation either. He tried to let go of that feeling, but it was sticky and wanted to cling to him. What he could do was actually try to fix the problem. He’d go to the library when his mom wasn’t ready to pound him into the ground. There had to be a way to get her dimensional portal open again. 

They got back to the house and Barley also had to give it to his mom. The water, food, and walk had helped him clear his head. He didn’t feel better per say, just more coherent. 

Ian was coming out of Barley’s room with a glass in his hand. It was mostly empty with a straw in it. 

“Did she wake up?!” Barley started. He’d missed it, his stupid mother had made him leave her. 

Ian nodded meekly, “Not for long though, just enough to drink this.” He held up the glass. 

Barley glared down at his mother, she looked completely unapologetic. “You needed a break, she’ll wake up again. It won’t kill either of you to not be in the same room all the time.” 

Barley growled and stalked over to the kitchen. Now that he wasn’t in an anxiety fog, he realized he needed more than just a sandwich. He rummaged through the cupboards and pulled out a bag of chips. He leaned against the sink eating while he thought. The library wasn’t open at night, so he couldn’t slip out once his mom went to bed and if he tried to go now, she’d just stop him again. He’d have to wait a few days to make her think he was just going for a drive for the hell of it. She might even encourage that. 

Ian came up to the sink and put the glass down in it. “She doesn’t think you ruin her life, ya know.” 

Barley stopped chewing and looked down at him, “You asked her that?”

Ian leaned up against the counter too, “Yeah, she can’t really talk, but she was shaking her head like crazy.”

Barley swallowed a chip, but it caught in his throat and he choked. He coughed until it dislodged. He didn’t really believe what Ian was telling him. It was nice to say, but it didn’t feel real. 

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

He shook is head and kept eating chips. 

Ian sighed, “She’ll tell you the next time you can talk to her.”

The brothers sat in silence for a while, Barley mindlessly eating chips. Eventually Barley paused and stared down at the bag, rolled it up and put it on the counter.

“Did Mom tell you what happened the night before Kris got sick?” He asked. 

“A little, I… heard some of it too. She sounded kind of unhinged.” 

“It was awful, she was in so much pain and I couldn’t really do anything about it. And… I know I’m not actually to blame for what happened, nobody really is, but I can’t help feel that way anyway. I just wish I could let her go home, or give her something to… make it easier. I’ve looked over that spell a million times and combed the internet and I can’t find anything. It feels so stupid that we’d never be able to access her dimension ever again, if we can open up the portals in the first place…” 

“Have you tried looking for a different spell? What did Dad do when he made his visitation spell?”

Barley’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he turned to his brother, “THAT’S IT! Dad made up the spell! Why didn’t I think of that! You really have blown past me! I have to research this!” He scrambled down to his room to start looking things up on his computer. He halted when he saw Kris in bed. His excitement tempered by the fact that if he could pull this off, Kris would leave forever and he’d never see her again. He wouldn’t even have the hope of bumping into her one day, she’d be _gone_. He’d have to get used to that feeling, if that’s what she wanted to do. 

He walked over to her and ran his hand over her cheek and kissed her forehead. He’d get her home.   



	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is super fluff heavy.

The next time Kris woke up, she could feel Barley next to her and there was a familiar song playing. She tried to speak but ended up coughing again. When it subsided she turned her head over to Barley, he was sitting up writing intently in a notebook. 

“Barley?” she said faintly. He started and as he realized she was awake, he threw the notebook down on the bed and shifted down to her. He checked her forehead with the back of his hand quickly and then cupped her face. 

“Hey! How are you feeling? Your fever seems to be gone.” 

“I feel like a truck landed on me,” she croaked. 

He chuckled, “do you need water? Are you hungry?”

“A little…”

“A little of everything?”

She nodded. He kissed her forehead and she wanted him to stay but he was too quick to move. 

“Back…” she muttered.

“Hmm?” He had sat up and was starting to get off the bed. 

“Come back…” 

He smiled, “I’ll come back with some water and soup, or would you prefer tea? Adele gave you some to drink.” 

“Tea…”

“As you wish, my love,” he left up the stairs. 

Kris felt more coherent than the first time she’d woken up, she barely remembered a conversation with Ian? Yeah, Ian. Her body was still incredibly weak though. Her throat didn’t feel as mucusy as it had before, so it was a little easier to talk. With Barley gone she was able to pay attention to the music. It was… Tchaikovsky? Was Barley paying her music? She loved Tchaikovsky, but not the Nutcracker, she’d heard that way too many times and it wasn’t as good as his other work. She blinked sleepily and got lost in the rise and fall of the orchestra. 

Barley came back carrying a tray and placed it down on the floor next to Kris. She could smell a broth of some kind. 

“Do you think you can sit up?” 

“Not on my own…”

“Okay, I’ll help.” 

He got her propped up on some pillows, her head swam as he lifted her up and she was disoriented for a second. Her skin felt cold, the blanket had fallen down and she realized she was naked. 

“Cold…” was all she could say. 

“Oh, right. Umm… here.” Barley grabbed something and pulled it over her head gently. She realized it was one of his t-shirts. She struggled to put her arms through the sleeves but managed to do it eventually. 

“Sleeping Beauty…” she mumbled.

“I agree,” Barley said as he lifted the tray up and put it in front of her, it had legs on it.

“No, the music… is Sleeping Beauty ballet… Tchaikovsky…” 

“Yeah? I’ve kind of just been playing all your music at you in case it helped.” 

She hummed and smiled, “I love Tchaikovsky, best composer… not Nutcracker, don’t like Nutcracker…”

“Okay, here’s some soup and tea, do you think you can feed yourself?” 

“Everyone loves the Nutcracker the most, but is not as good as this… this one my favorite…” 

“You’re very talkative for someone whose been comatose for six days.” 

“Tchaikovsky didn’t even like Nutcracker and he wrote it…” 

“I feel like you should try to eat something.” 

“But every Christmas they gotta play the fuckin’ Nutcracker… It’s everywhere…” 

“I’m regretting putting on your music now.” 

“Sugar plum fairy can go suck a dick…”

Barley snorted a laugh, “I missed you.” 

Kris looked up at him and smiled, her head swaying. He looked… tired and a little sad. She must have been really sick, she felt like she’d been really sick. She looked back down at the tray, the soup looked good. She tried to pick up the spoon, but it wasn’t happening, her arms felt like rubber. 

“Here,” he picked up the bowl and held it up to her mouth. She was able to raise her arms and take the bowl, stabilizing with her elbows and leaning back into the wall. The soup was hot, but not scalding. It seemed to be a simple broth with rice and veggies in it. It felt good going down her throat and even better settling in her belly. She gulped it down slowly until it was gone. 

“Good, I’m glad your hungry. Do you want more?” Barley had stood patiently by as she’d eaten. 

She shook her head. A part of Sleeping Beauty started where the flutes trilled like birds, she sighed in happiness. Flutes always reminded her of her mom. “That’s what my momma sounds like…” she hummed.

“What?”

“She plays flute… taught flute when I was little… flute is what my momma sounds like…” Kris felt very sleepy again. She had wanted to try the tea, but she didn’t know if she could stay awake enough. 

“Kris, I’m going to try to get you home.”

“Am I not home…?”

“No…” Barley sounded very sad now. She looked back up with droopy eyes, he looked like he was going to cry. 

“You’re my home now…” Kris mumbled and then fell asleep. 

* * * 

How could she say something so perfect and heart breaking at the same time? Barley had been working on trying to figure out a new spell to get Kris home for about a day now. It was going to take some time with lots of testing things out with Ian, but he thought he could do it. He was nervous to tell Kris about it, but he didn’t want to keep her out of the loop. He would try to not get her hopes up, in case it didn’t work. 

When she’d woken up her coughing had sounded less strained and she seemed to be able to get a breath easier. Her forehead didn’t feel hot anymore either. She wasn’t very coherent or understandable, she was slurring her words and the words she was saying weren’t familiar to Barley anyway. It was so good to hear her voice again though, even if it was croaky gibberish. 

It was an excellent sign to see her drink the whole bowl of soup in one go. When she’d been really bad, the only food she had gotten were the few spoonfuls of broth he could get into her mouth. Her cheeks got back some color after the soup too, if her eyes didn’t look so sunken and tired she’d almost look like her old self. 

His chest stuttered when she started talking about her mom. The flute, that’s what she’d been reacting to, not the song itself. She didn’t seem sad this time when listening to one play, but she was also pretty loopy. He had to give her the option to go home. She might be okay for now, but he knew what it was like to loose family and more importantly, what it was like to not say goodbye to family. She’d have scars for the rest of her life and Barley would do anything to heal them if it was in his power. 

Barley took the tray away and laid Kris back down in bed. His shirt was massive on her and it made her look small and adorable. He might hide her old PJ’s so she’d have to wear his shirts to bed from now on. _You’re my home now…_ Those words had strung him up better than if she’d told him she loved him. What would a future with Kris look like? He didn’t know what he was going to be doing a year from now, much less the rest of his life. If Kris was there though, he could see bits of it, like a painting slowly coming into focus. 

They’d have a small home, filled with the things they loved. Chalk full of clutter all the time, but cozy. She’d paint on the walls. They’d have friends over all the time to play Quests of Yore or whatever they felt like. They’d go on road trips constantly, looking for creatures Kris wanted to see or up to some ancient ruins he wanted to see. It was idealized and over simplified, he knew, but it was beautiful to think about. He closed his eyes and indulged in the idea for a minute before shutting it tightly away in the back of his mind and getting back to researching. 

* * *

Kris had to pee. Really really badly. The urge shocked her awake and she fumbled with her body trying to get up. She managed to roll over on her side and was about to flop over on the ground when Barley noticed she was moving. 

“Whoa! Hey, what do you need?” he came rushing over, stopping her from falling. 

“Bathroom,” she grunted.

“Ah.” 

He got her upright and sitting off the edge of the bed, but when she tried to stand, her legs immediately gave way. 

“Here,” he said gently and scooped her up into his arms. She was taken aback at how easily he’d done it.

“Oh!” she blinked, their faces were suddenly close together again. “I’d love this, if it wasn’t humiliating…” she admitted. 

Barley only smiled and took her into the bathroom. Kris could feel her cheeks heating up. It was one thing to live with your boyfriend, but another to have him literally have to set you down on the toilet. 

“Kay… thanks…” she mumbled and motioned for him to leave.

“Just yell at me when you’re done,” he said smoothly and closed the door. 

“Yup.”

She sat there feeling stunned for a bit. It felt weird to be out of bed all of a sudden. Her body still felt incredibly sore, but breathing was easier. She took a deep breath, relishing the feeling. She had an Austin Powers comically long stay on the toilet. How long had she been in that bed? 

She hated the idea of Barley picking her back up off the toilet, so she tried to get up herself. Her legs did not want to cooperate. She managed to pull herself up using the sink, it was close enough to the toilet to reach. Once she was sort of standing, her legs could hold her up but they were shaky and she knew, she couldn’t do it for long. She leaned into the sink as she washed her hands. She did not have the energy to reach over and dry them though, she’d have to deal with wet hands. 

“Kay, I’m done!” she rasped. 

Barley came back in and was startled to see her leaning precariously off of the sink. “Hey, take it easy! You don’t have to push yourself.” 

“I have given you my soul, leave me my naammme…” Kris groaned. 

“Still a little loopy, huh?” he chuckled. 

“That’s actually an incredibly poignant literary reference that my high school English teacher would be very proud I remembered, but it is lost on you… also maybe…” 

Barley scoffed, shaking his head as he picked her up again. 

“You’ve gotten good at that,” she said feeling dizzy.

“I got some practice.”

He put her back into bed, but kept her in a sitting position. “You should probably eat again, there’s still some soup. I could also try making a grilled cheese. Nobody else is home right now.” Barley offered. 

The idea of grilled cheese made Kris’s mouth water, “Yesss grill-ed cheeese.” 

“Anything for you, sweet maiden.” He kissed her on the cheek and went upstairs. 

Kris was left to sit. He was playing her music, her laptop placed on his desk next to his own computer. Daft Punk was playing, the familiar bass line and synth of Something About Us filling the room. She hadn’t listened to this song in a while. The digitized voice began to sing and the lyrics made Kris’s chest constrict.

_It might not be the right time, I might not be the right one, but there’s something about us I want to say, cause there’s something between us anyway…_

Boy, did that sum up how Kris felt about Barley. As lost and homesick as she felt, he had become the most important thing in her life at the moment. She had no idea if they’d work out in the end, this whole experience had taught her that nothing in life was ever certain. Still she longed for the security of knowing her and Barley were solid. Should she tell him, she loved him? He’d been nursing her this whole time, how ever long it had been, maybe he loved her too? She hated how insecure she felt. 

Barley came back down with the tray. He’d brought a bowl of soup again, which was good because the grilled cheese, wasn’t so much a grilled cheese as it was blackened bread with raw cheese in the middle. 

“Wow, how did you even do that?” Kris snorted as he put it in front of her. 

“I have no idea,” he sighed. 

“I’m guessing your mom made the soup then.”

“It’s from a can…” 

“Thank you… not just for this, but… everything…” she looked up at him and gave a timid smile. 

“Oh, yeah…” Barley looked uncomfortable. 

“You saved me, you know that right?” She said before she could loose her nerve.

“I mean, you were so sick, what else was I supposed to do?” He was shuffling on his feet. It was a very un-Barley thing to do. 

“No, I mean through all of this. You kept me afloat this whole time.” 

Barley stilled, his face confused, “I did?”

Kris nodded and tried not to feel so nervous. 

“But the night before you got sick… you were falling apart, I let you get that way, I didn’t think about-”

“Barley, I didn’t let you think about it. I bottled that up, you were the one that reached out to me. You pulled me out of the hole I was making for myself.” 

“But… you’re mom, your family, you miss them and I took you away from them…” 

“Wha…? No! I miss them, yes, but that’s not your fault. What happened was an accident.”

“I make a lot of accidents happen…” Barley said flatly. 

Kris didn’t know what to say to that. Was he blaming himself for all of this? Did he feel obligated to take care of her? God, she hated the way her brain worked sometimes. 

“But I think I can fix it!” Barley continued, seeming to take her silence as agreement. “I’m working with Ian to figure out how to get you home. I’m writing a new spell to open a portal to your dimension.”

Kris’s heart was pulled in several directions at this news. Did he want her to leave? Did she want to leave? She wanted to see her family again, desperately. She wanted to let them know she was okay, that she hadn’t meant to disappear. But she wanted to stay with Barley too. Her life back home had been spiraling out of control. She had been failing in college, she’d been broke and miserable. She was still broke now, but at least she had Barley and the relief of not having to finish her degree was palpable. 

She shook her head and put her hands up to her face. There were too many feelings. Barley not wanting her to stay. Seeing her family again. Going home to her shitty apartment, bills she couldn’t pay and a degree she couldn’t finish. Tears of confusion welled up. 

“I’ll get it working, I promise. You can go home… if you want to…” Barley sounded cautiously optimistic.

_If I want to… What do I want?_ Kris thought. She wanted Barley, she wanted her family, was it impossible to have both? 

“Will… will the spell put me back… forever?” she asked weakly. She didn’t want to know the answer, but she needed to know. 

“If that’s what you want…” 

“What does that mean, Barley?!” She pulled her head up, tears streaming down her face. “Why are you making me choose between you and my family? I want both! I want them to know I’m okay and that I’m safe and happy! I want to able to talk to them sometimes, but I don’t know if I want my old life back. It sucked, Barley, it really fucking sucked, okay? I was a failure back home, I was drowning!” 

Barley looked shocked, “But that night… you were so upset about being here…”

“I was scared to be here, cause it is scary! I don’t know what I’m doing here, but at least I have you! You’re the first person whose ever been there for me that wasn’t my mom! At home I still won’t know what I’m doing, but it’ll be worse because I won’t have you!”

Barley looked baffled, “I didn’t ruin your life…?”

“No you idiot, I love you!” 

Barley seemed stunned for a second before surging forward and kissing her hard on the mouth. Kris welcomed him, trying to pull him in more, but her arms were weak and she couldn’t grip him as hard as she wanted to. He started to lower himself onto the bed, but he’d forgotten about the tray and it flipped over, spilling soup partly on Kris, but mostly all over his bed and walls. The “grilled cheese” went flying apart as well. 

They broke apart and pulled back from the mess. The soup had been hot, but it wasn’t burning Kris. She burst into nervous laughter, chuckling wetly. Barley gave a sharp yell of panic before seeing her giggling and breaking into laughter as well. 

“We’re-*hick*- we’re a disaster couple, aren’t we?” Kris gurgled threw the giggles. Relief had washed over her as soon as Barley started kissing her. She was still crying but this time it was from happiness. Barley only nodded and kept kissing her. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We got another fluffernutter sandwich.

Barley mopped up some of the soup with towels but they decided most of the mess could wait and took a bath instead. Kris had felt grungy already from what Barley told her was six straight days in bed and now half of her had soup on it. She sat in the bath tub with Barley behind her, his legs on either side of her. The hot water felt amazing on her sore body and the steam helped her breathe. Barley was soaping up her hair, gently pulling his fingers through it. That felt really good too. 

“You ready for the wash off?” he asked. Barley had grabbed a plastic bowl to pour water over her. She nodded dreamily. After the relief of telling Barley she loved him and clearing up their misunderstandings, she was feeling exceptionally calm and devoid of thought. He splashed water over her head until the shampoo was out. He moved on to the conditioner. 

“How do you have both sides of your head shaved and still have this much hair?” Barley mused.

“Italian genes, baby.” 

“Italian?”

“Yah, my Opa was from Italy.”

“You know I don’t know what any of those words mean, right?” 

“Heh, yeah I forget…” Kris was feeling very warm and fuzzy, maybe a little punch drunk. 

“What’s an Opa?”

“Grandfather.”

“Ah! Italy being a place then.”

“Mmmm…”

“I’m named after my grandfather.”

“He still alive?”

“Nope.”

“Neither is my Opa…” 

It was strange to Kris that she hadn’t known Barley for very long at all and yet was completely in love with him. She was looking forward to learning more about him. 

“I’m going to wash you off again, okay?”

“The conditioner should sit for a bit…” Kris said sitting back into Barley. 

“I’m not going to argue with that,” he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in. 

They laid back in the tub in a contented embrace. Kris wanted the moment to stretch out forever. 

“This is a whole lot better than the last time I was in the tub with you…” Barley said.

“Heh! Yeah you nearly broke it.”

“No… When your fever got bad, Mom and I had to put you in here with cool water to try and stop it from getting too high.” 

“Oh, I don’t even kind of remember that…” 

“You wouldn’t…”

“How sick was I?”

Barley sat up a bit and squeezed her close, kissing her neck softly. “Very…” he finally said. “I was so scared.” 

Kris put her hand up to his face, he kissed it. “I love you so much…” he whispered. Kris didn’t think she could get any happier. She looked down at their contrasting skin tones. A giggle started in her chest and bubbled up. 

“If you think that’s funny I’m dunking you underwater,” Barley teased.

“No! Heheh, that’s wonderful, it’s just that… heheh ha, I’m in love with an elf from a different dimension! It’s just so weird! How- ah heh! How am I going to explain this to my mom if I see her again?” 

“You will,” Barley assured her. 

“How are you writing the spell?”

“I’m using the first one as a base, branching out from there to see what works… Spell craft is kinda arbitrary.”

“Will it be like a window? Or can we go through it?"

“Oh that would be cool, if we could just hop between whenever we wanted…”

“Can we?”

“I… I don’t know yet, but I’m going to try to make that happen now that I know you don’t want to… go back forever.”

Kris turned her head and kissed him. “Oh! If we can go back and forth I’m so introducing you to burritos!” 

“Those are…?”

“Food! Delicious delicious food, beans and cheese and carne asada and carnitas and guacamole… Fuck, I’ve missed guacamole.” 

“What’s it taste like?” 

“Creamy, but also citrusy with onions and salt and tomatoes. It’s green. You can put cilantro in there too, but I hate the stuff, tastes like sadness.”

“Huh…”

“It’s very hard to describe spices that don’t exist here…” 

“So burritos are green or…?”

“Heh! No just guacamole. Sorry I got a little over excited.” 

“Never apologize for getting excited, it’s one of the things that first made me crush on you.”

“I really wish my muscles weren’t made out of mush right now or I’d jump you…”

“And that’s one reason I fell in love with you.”  
  
* * *

“Give me pants.” 

“But you’re so cute in just my shirt,” Barley pouted.

“I’m not sitting in your family’s living room with my butt out, I demand pants.” 

They’d finished the bath and Barley had taken Kris down to the living room to sit while he cleaned the soup mess. 

“You won’t even be up here to see me,” Kris reasoned.

“Fine, fine, I’ll get your sweat pants…” 

Barley set Kris up with her requested pants, a blanket and finally the tea that Adele had given her. It was delicious, very floral with a bit of earthy notes. Barley said it smelled like a hot leaf juice and didn’t understand why she liked it so much. 

She sat contentedly on the couch sipping her tea with Blazey in her lap. She had almost dozed off when Ian got home. 

“Hey, you’re up!” Ian said as he noticed her. Blazey immediately shot out of Kris’s lap and tackled him. 

She nodded as he tried to calm the dragon down. 

“You look a lot better,” he said, scratching Blazey on the belly. 

“I can stay conscious for more than ten minutes!” 

“And you don’t look like a corpse!”

“Yikes…”

“Yeah, it was not great. Where’s Barley?”

“Downstairs cleaning up soup.”

“Did he spill it?”

“Like all over the bed and walls.”

“Yeah, make sure he cleans behind the bed, I don’t think he’s ever done that.”

“Mmm, gross…”

Barley came up the stairs looking very jazzed about something. “I found like five miniatures I’ve been missing under the bed and this!” he held up a dagger. “It used to be my favorite, I’d sleep with it!”

“You’d sleep with a knife? Like in your hand?” Kris squinted.

“No, just next to me.”

“That seems not safe.”

He shrugged and went back downstairs. 

“He seems waaaay better,” Ian said looking relieved. “Probably because you’re up and talking again.”

“And I called him an idiot and that I love him.” 

“That would do it too.” 

“He’ll will probably go over all of this with you, but he’s going to try to make the portal spell so we can go back and forth.” 

“I thought that was the original plan…”

“I think he thought I wanted to go back forever and never come back.” 

“Ah, that lines up with his mood the past week.” 

Kris gripped her mug a little tighter at that. She hated the idea of Barley being convinced she wanted to leave him forever or that he’d ruined her life some how. She hadn’t realized it before, but he had some self worth issues much like she did. He just hid it a lot better. She wanted to fix it, but knew from experience that even if the people around you showed you nothing but love and support it didn’t mean you believed it yourself. It was frustrating on both sides of the coin. 

“Well, I just came home to pick up some stuff and go to the park, so I’ll see you later, kay?”

Kris gave a short nod and smiled.

“Glad you’re feeling better!” Ian said before running upstairs to his room. He came back a minute later with his staff and headed for the door. When he opened it, Shrub was at the doorstep about to knock. Ian said a quick hello before running past him. 

“Shrub! I’m alive!” Kris called to him. Her voice was still a little phlegmy so she sounded croaky. 

“Oh thank fuck! It has been incredibly boring in the shop since both of you were gone,” Shrub came in and closed the door before joining her on the couch. Blazey tried to climb up into his lap, but Kris grabbed her. 

“Aha, so you do like having Barley around,” Kris elbowed him in the rib slightly. 

“He’s like a fungus that grows on you.” 

Kris snickered at that. “Admit you secretly love his drama, you’re a drama whore.” 

“I will never expect that title.”

“But it’s true.”

“Speaking of drama, do you want the deets on the little tabletop crew we used to eavesdrop on?”

“Did the tall cyclops girl ever ask out the centaur chick?” 

“No! And you do you know why?” Shrub gave a conspiratorial grin, “she was only trying to get close to her to ask out her mom!”

“Ew! What? Isn’t she like 18?”

“I think 21 actually, but no it didn’t go well, the group has been intensely awkward ever since.”

“And you love it, drama whore.”

“I prefer observational connoisseur.”

“Gossip groupy.” 

“Casual scholar of psychology."

“Scandal slut.” 

“I kinda want to keep going to see if you can make more alliteration happen.”

“Oh! Hearsay whore sounds better than drama…” 

Shrub chuckled and sat back on the couch, putting his arms along the back. Kris leaned back into him. She’d really missed Shrub and their easy relationship. They’d gotten fairly close in the past months and she realized he’d actually become her best friend, besides Barley. 

“I see you’re enjoying the tea Adele sent,” he commented. 

“It’s a fucking delight, I’m going to want more,” she said and took a big gulp of it. 

“I’ll let her know. Where’s Barley anyway? If you’re awake again I would have thought he’d be more glued to your side than usual.” 

“He got soup all over the bed.” 

“That tracks.”

Kris’s stomach took that opportunity to growl rather loudly. 

“I’m guessing the soup was intended for your stomach and not the bed,” Shrub deduced. 

“Observational connoisseur, indeed.” Kris said dryly. 

“I’m not a super good cook, but I can make you eggs,” he offered.

“You cook?”

“And bake! Who do you think made all the campaign goodies before your pretty little trans-dimensional head came along?” Shrub got off the couch and headed over to the kitchen. 

“Not Barley, he tried to make a grilled cheese today too.”

“Oh yeah! Look at that pan, that’s a lot of charcoal!” he picked up the frying pan on the stove and ran his finger through the charred bits. 

“My man is many things, but he should never be given access to fire.” Kris said sagely. 

Shrub set to cleaning the pan and making her eggs. He seemed pretty familiar with the Lightfoot kitchen. Blazey had settled back onto Kris’s lap until Barley came up the stairs. 

“Lightfoot, I’m feeding your woman since you’re incapable,” said Shrub as he stirred some eggs in the pan. 

“Hey Shrub,” Barley said completely un-phased with his friend suddenly being there. He went over to Kris and plopped down next to her, making her tea jump in the mug. “I had to strip the entire mattress so I if you need to sleep you might have to be on the couch.” He kissed her cheek. 

Kris yawned and leaned into him, “I’ll see how I feel after food.” 

“Want me to carry you to the kitchen?”

“Yes, please.”

Shrub was actually a pretty good cook, he put cheese in the eggs. 

“Dude, these taste amazing!” Kris made contented groaning sounds as she ate. It had been so long since she’d eaten solid food. “Rah! Mine! No!” Barley had tried to steal a bit and Kris guarded it with both arms. 

“I can’t persuade you to make more, can I?” Barley leaned back defeated in his chair. 

“Not for you, person who has use of their legs, no.” Shrub said sitting down at the table. “But also even if you didn’t. Boy, it feels good to going back to being an asshole to you!”

“Was a truce called while I was down for the count?”

“Not so much truce as pity moratorium.” Shrub said off handedly. 

Kris looked back up at Barley, he smiled down at her, but she could see how tired he looked. He pulled her hair behind her ear and rubbed little circles on her cheek with his thumb. 

“Blech, you finally said you loved each other, didn’t you?”

“Finally? We’ve only been together for like 4 months,” Kris switched back to Shrub. 

“You sweet summer child, that is practically an eternity in Barley dating time.”

“You make it sound like I had a new partner every week,” Barley scoffed. “I’ve had like… five relationships and a handful of hook ups.”

“Maybe I just increased it in my head because any show of affection gives me hives.”

Kris smirked, “You had me thinking Barley was a huge slut when we barely got together.”

“Yoouuu piece of shit,” Barley grumbled, his words had little malice though, mostly exhaustion. 

“I mean, I didn’t care. I had fun before coming here,” Kris shrugged.

Barley looked like he wanted to be surprised, but then thought about it, “Yeah that makes sense…” he said defeated. 

“I’m so torn between asking to know more to make Barley uncomfortable or leaving it alone so I don’t get uncomfortable…” 

“Oh Barley has literally no competition in terms of whose been able to fuck me the best.”

“AUGH! Deer lord why?!?”

“That’s my girl,” Barley pulled Kris in and kissed her cheek. 

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for some introspection nonsense.

Recovery was slow, but Kris felt better every day. About two days after she’d coherently woken up for the first time she was able to wobble to the bathroom and back without Barley’s help. Barley told her she’d woken up a couple times before, but Kris barely had any memory of them. Once she was able to start moving on her own, she convinced Barley that it was okay to leave her and go back to work. 

Since Barley had listened to almost her entire music library he’d gotten more familiar with her music and Kris was delighted. He loved things that she had totally excepted like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Wolfmother, but he also seemed to like a lot her electronic stuff, like Starcadian and Daft Punk. The weirdest ones he was into were some songs off of Neil Cicierega’s Mouth albums, which baffled Kris since he didn’t have any cultural reference for them. It was wild watching a person listen to Bills Like Jean Spirit and just enjoy it as music instead of the mind fuck that it was. 

Kris confessed that Something About Us reminded her of Barley and he had to listen to it again before jumping on the bed and kissing her so fervently she lost all sense of the world. He shared a song he’d listened to before they’d gotten together, it was rock ballad all about being in love with a maiden that was forever out of reach. It was incredibly cheesy and dramatic, in other words, very Barley. 

“Why were you convinced I wouldn’t ever be interested?” Kris asked as she cuddled up next to him. 

“It’s not that I didn’t think you could be, it’s that I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

“Because of how I got here?”

“Yeah… and- nevermind…” Barley shook his head. 

“Tell me.”

“It’s dumb…”

“Tell me anyway, and I don’t think it will be.”

“I dunno, you’re… better than me, I guess.”

Kris wrinkled her face up, “I’m not following and highly disagree.” 

Barley sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “You’re smart and know what you want to do in life and you’re _really_ good at that thing. I have no idea what I’m doing. I like to pretend that I do, but I really really don’t. I feel like I’m careening off a cliff into nothing and I didn’t want you caught up in my mess…” 

“Nobody knows what they’re doing, Barley. Especially me.” 

“But you’re an incredible artist, you want to make art for a living, that’s a goal! I don’t have any!”

“So? You’re 20 years old, babe. I am a weird exception, I’ve had a ‘goal’ in life since I was six and it’s changed constantly. And art isn’t exactly stable, I’ve chosen a path that’s up a steep mountain and the trail is a foot wide right up at the edge. I could fall anytime. I was falling, I’d flunked out of most of my classes.”

Barley leaned his head back as he thought, “But the way you talk about college it seems like it was more about gate-keeping and your professors just not liking your work.”

“I also constantly forgot assignments and didn’t show up to class.” 

“Still you have a direction you’re going and you are good, Kris. Everybody I’ve ever showed your stuff to is impressed. I’m not good at anything…”

“Are you kidding me?” Kris looked him straight in the eye and grabbed his shirt collar, “You made a car, Barley. You made _two_ cars. You know more about your town’s history than I think your textbooks do. Not only that, but you can relate that history with such enthusiasm it’s impossible not to be interested. You’re smart too and passionate and supportive and one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met! You practically raised your brother and he adores you! You’re just as incredible as you tell me I am!”

She kissed him gently on the mouth as he stared in stunned silence. “Who cares if you don’t know what you want do for the rest of your life?”

“But that’s scary and I hate that I’m scared of that.”

“Life is scary.”

“But I promised myself I’d never feel scared ever again…” 

“That’s an insane promise to make. Also impossible to keep.”

“But if I’m not scared than I won’t… I won’t make mistakes…”

“Have you made a mistake since making that promise?” Kris asked dryly.  
  
Barley grumbled and looked away from her. 

“Why did you promise yourself you’d never be scared?”

He furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth. Kris could tell he was starting to get frustrated with her. Barley closed his eyes and took a breath before continuing, “When I told you about my dad, I didn’t tell you everything. I said I had four memories of him, but one of them… one of them I hate thinking about.” He swallowed and took a beat, “I remember when he was sick, it was at the end and I was supposed to go in and say goodbye and I couldn’t. I was too scared. I never got to say goodbye and that’s why seeing him last year meant so much. I got the goodbye I’d been too afraid to get the first time…” 

Kris softened and pushed her finger through his bangs before resting her hand on his cheek. “That’s a good thing.”

“Yeah, but I’m still… ugh! I can’t explain it! I feel better about my dad, that pain is easier now, but now that it isn’t as big I’m left still feeling rudderless and lost and…”

“Scared.”

“Yes! I hate it!” Barley brought his hands up to his face and looked up in frustration.

“Being scared doesn’t make you a bad person, Barley. You’re basing your identity on a mistake you made when you were how old?” 

“Three…”

“Three years old! Of course a little toddler would be terrified of a hospital bed! Grown ass adults are scared of hospital beds!”

Barley smirked with little humor in his face. 

“Look, I’m not saying being afraid to say goodbye to your dad wasn’t a mistake. It clearly was since it’s caused you so much pain, but refusing to feel scared just creates different mistakes. It doesn’t have to be a dichotomy between feeling scared and not, there’s a happy medium in there.”

He stayed silent, but Barley seemed to have calmed down while Kris was talking. His hands were back down at his sides and he clenched and unclenched them into fists. 

Kris thought for a minute before speaking again, “If it makes you feel better I have the same problem in reverse. Since my dad was constantly on me for doing even the slightest thing wrong I got in the habit of just not trying. I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 17 because I was too scared to try to drive. That’s why I was failing college, because I was… am too scared to try. I can’t fail if I don’t try, but that just means I don’t do anything.”

“But you do, you make art…”

“Only because it removes me from the real world, it’s an escape and the mistakes I make in art are nothing compared to actually having to face life. That’s way more frightening.” 

Barley gave a small smile but faded back into looking contemplative. Kris butted her forehead against his and they sat there for a moment. Kris had no idea if what she’d said had made him feel better at all, but was nice to have some insight on him as a person. It explained a lot about how he had acted when she’d finally woken up. 

“How about…” she bit her lip, hoping this was a good thing to say. “If you help me try more and be more brave, maybe I can try and help you get comfortable with feeling scared?” 

He took a moment but then nodded, “yeah…” 

Kris put her arms around his neck and he loosely held onto her hips. 

“You’re gonna be okay, Barley.” She said, pulling her fingers through his hair. 

He nodded slightly again before pulling his head up. “Wow! That got intense.”

Kris smiled but could tell he was feeling uncomfortable, if not scared at that very moment. She had an urge to poke that bear, but it seemed ill advised given that he’d already been very vulnerable. Baby steps. 

She yawned, “I’m sleepy again, I might nap…” 

“Okay… hey,” she turned to her face up to his again. He looked timid and hesitant, an expression she’d never seen on his face before. “Thank you, for that… You’re good at it.” 

She nodded, “You did it for me first.” 

Barley gave a genuine smile then and kissed her. 

* * *

It was strange being back at work for the first time in a little under two weeks. Barley can always had a hard time focusing on menial tasks, but it felt extra disorienting to be ‘back to normal’ after the stress filled weeks he’d had. His plan was to try to do all he needed as fast as possible so he could go home a little sooner. However he kept finding himself staring off into space thinking. 

His life hadn’t changed much technically, but it felt completely different now. It wasn’t just that Kris loved him or wanted to stay either. It had been one thing she’d said to him. _Being scared doesn’t make you a bad person._ That had hit him hard. He hadn’t even realized that was what he’d internalized all those years ago, but it made sense now. It gave a shape to this wild feeling he’d had inside of him for so long. The idea that if he just did everything that scared him, he wouldn’t make any mistakes that he’d regret. That feeling was rooted in guilt though, guilt over not being brave enough, not being good enough. In his attempts to not regret anything he’d swung the pendulum in the other direction. Ironically he’d just become scared of feeling scared. So when he was faced with something that didn’t have an obvious move forward and was more intangible, he had no idea how to deal with it. So far in life he’d chosen to ignore those problems, but that was getting harder and harder to do the more he aged. That pressure had been building inside of him ever since he’d graduated high school and the looming dread of not knowing what to do next was something he’d been unable to cope with. It’s why Kris getting sick had sent him into a such an anxiety spiral. 

“How are you doing, young Barley,” Adele’s voice broke him out of the thought bubble. 

He blinked and realized he was half way in pushing a box back on the shelf. “I am good… I think.” He said, finishing the task and feeling dazed. 

“Kris is in better health?”

“Yes! Much better, she’ll be out of bed for good soon. She loves that tea you gave her.”

Adele nodded, “Shrub relayed that as well, which is why I have more for you.” She handed him another little bundle. 

“Thank you! She’ll be thrilled.” Barley took it and there was awkward pause as he was still having trouble getting out of his own head at the moment. 

“Are you sure you are feeling in good spirits? You seem… thoughtful as of late.”

“I’ve just had a lot to think about lately, I guess.” 

“Hmmm, indeed.” Adele nodded goodbye and walked into her office. 

Barley shook his head trying to get back into the head space of working. He felt like he was in a weird limbo of changing. He didn’t know what was going to happen but for once that didn't give him vague feelings of dread. Naming the fear had quelled it and he had Kris now. He hunkered down for the rest of the day and managed to get through it all without zoning out again. He just had to restock a few things and then he could go home. 

He went out to the front and was about to start but his eyes fell on the mural for the first time in weeks. He’d honestly forgotten about it and since he’d been in a rush to get work over with, he hadn’t given that side of the store a second glance. Even in it’s incomplete form it was breath taking. She’d made the composition so that everything in the valley was clear and readable, your eye moved from landmark to landmark easily. The colors were spectacular, vibrant and otherworldly. As Barley’s eyes scanned over it, a shape caught his eye, a little hidden figure in the shapes of the forest foliage. Then he found another one and another one. She’d hidden dozens of little creatures in the shapes of the leaves and plant life, all interlocking like a hidden puzzle. The color values were close enough so that you didn’t notice it at first, but the more you looked at it the more you found. She’d put everything animal Barley had ever seen her draw in the park and more. 

“She is disgustingly good, isn’t she?” Shrub said behind him. 

Barley could only nod. He couldn’t believe she was failing art school. Something was wrong with the school if this is what a failing student’s work looked like. 

“When is she coming back? I’m sick of sitting out here by myself.” 

“Probably soon, she can get up the stairs now…” He couldn’t stop looking at the wall. 

“Are you okay? You seem weirdly contemplative, which either means you’re getting sick now or your brain has been swapped with someone else’s.”

“Adele just asked pretty much the same thing…” 

“Again, you are weirdly calm, it’s fucking with me. Please stop. Shout about how perfect Kris is, or like throw something at me.”

Barley only snickered and got to restocking the shelves that needed it. 

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choo choo! The horny train is back in the station. And some other non-horny things happen.

After almost two weeks in bed, Kris could almost go the whole day without needing to take a nap and she was ecstatic about it. She was so sick of Barley’s room and she was chomping at the bit to get out the house in general. 

Barley had been back at work for a couple shifts now and Kris was so bored at home alone. She wanted to finish her mural, or go exploring in the park, or do literally anything that wasn’t in this house. When he finally came home she’d been dozing just because she couldn’t think of anything else to do.  
  
The sound of him coming down the stairs woke her up, she drowsily watched him move around until he noticed her eyes were open. 

“Hey there, sleeping beauty,” he said coming over and hovering over her in the bed. Barley had started calling her that since she’d gotten sick. It seemed odd to Kris since he didn’t know the fairy tale and she had no idea where he would have gotten it from. 

She gave a small hello back before he kissed her. She inhaled sharply, her body coming into wakefulness and finding it was full of energy. Kris pulled Barley in, deepening their kiss and arching her body up to his. They hadn’t done anything physical since she’d gotten sick and her hunger for it was suddenly back. She gripped the back of his head and slid her fingers under the collar of his shirt. 

Barley chuckled softly as she pressed her body up to his, “You’re definitely feeling better.” He said between kisses.

“I’d feel even better if you weren’t wearing clothes…” she said pulling up on his shirt. 

He smiled but caught her hand in his, “Not yet.” 

She made a protesting whimper, “why not?” She pushed her thigh up in between his legs and he felt just as excited as she was. He gave a suppressed moan as she did it, but shook his head. 

“Since it’s been a while I think I want to take you somewhere else.” 

“Where? Also why can’t we play now and then go somewhere and then have more fun, double fun.” 

“As appealing as that sounds, in my experience it’s even more fun if I make you wait.” 

“Nooooo, you can’t make me!” She wriggled up against him, sliding her other hand up under his shirt, but he caught that too and pulled her hands above her head and kept them there. She hated that he was being coy but this small show of strength and restraint was also incredibly hot. 

“I hate you…” she pouted. 

He only smiled wickedly and ran his other hand over her breast. Her nipples were already hard under his shirt and they were extremely sensitive. She bit her lip hard and wriggled even more, trying to break free, but his grip was iron. 

“If I let you go, will you be good?” he asked and kept caressing her breasts through the t-shirt.  
  
“No.”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you if you’re good. I’ll take you somewhere where you can be as loud as you want and make you come over and over, as many times as you want.” 

God she loved this as much as she hated it. She squirmed a bit more until Barley’s hand stopped caressing her. 

“Maybe…” she huffed.

“I’m gonna need a yes.” 

She groaned and arched her back, vainly hoping her writhing body would make him give in to her. It didn’t. 

“Fine, I’ll be good.” 

“You promise?”

She squinted up at him, he was having entirely too much fun with her. “Yes.”

He lifted his hand up experimentally, smiling expectantly at her. She didn’t move. He kissed her softly and she desperately wanted to rip all of his clothes off and go to town. But she knew if she tried, he would do the same thing and then she’d have to wait even longer. She only pulled his lip with her teeth instead. His breath hitched as he pulled away, “You are dangerous, my love.” 

She blew a raspberry at him. 

Barley laughed and stood up, “Put some clothes on and we can go.” 

“I find it incredibly cruel that you’re making me put clothes on in order to fuck you.”  
  
“Do you want to walk out to Guinie 2 in just my shirt? Cause I am for it.” 

Kris made a sour face before grunting up out of the bed. While she put on clothes, Barley grabbed condoms as well as some blankets and a few pillows. When they went upstairs, Laurel was in the kitchen making a protein shake. 

“What’s all that for?” she asked, motioning to the bundle of bedding Barley was carrying.  
  
“Kris is feeling a lot better today, so I’m going to take her out for a picnic.” He said smoothly. 

“Oh okay, have fun.” 

He nodded as they left and Kris had a hard time suppressing nervous giggles. 

The drive felt excruciatingly long. Barley seemed to know where he was going though and he was taking them some place remote. They left town and he veered off onto a dirt road and followed it for a while before turning down an even worse road. Finally he slowed and turned off into a small clearing in the trees. 

He pulled his keys out of the ignition and turned to face Kris, “We’re here.”

“Where is that?” Kris couldn’t really tell much since most of the scenery was obscured by trees. 

“Literally nowhere.” 

She snorted and got out of the van.

“Hey, where you going?” Barley followed her out.

“You made me wait and now I can make you wait. Plus I haven’t been outside in weeks and I’m dying for fresh air.” 

It was a pretty boring little clearing, there wasn’t much to see besides the trees and the road they’d left a little ways up a hill. She would almost call it mundane if it weren’t for the fact that all the plants and trees looked like they popped out of a storybook. Kris took a big breath of the fresh air and just enjoyed the sensation of sunlight on her skin. 

“You had to wear that dress, huh?” Barley said coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her body. 

“My red dress? Is that a problem?”

“No, it’s just the first thing I saw you wear that made me realize I was in trouble.”

“Your ‘oh no she’s hot’ moment?” 

“My ‘oh no she’s gorgeous and I live with her, I’m going to be so awkward I have to spend as much time as I can away from her or I’ll make an ass of myself’ moment.” 

“You did kinda disappear after I got all my clothes, huh?”

“I kept myself pretty busy, but sometimes I couldn’t think of anything else to do and so I’d just drive around in circles listening to music.” 

“Listening to that one song?”

“Yup.” 

“You are the biggest dork in both of our dimensions.”

“You jumped on this dork with lighting speed,” Barley pulled her in tighter and kissed her neck. 

“I would have done it faster if you’d been in the house more often.”  
  
“Okay you need to go back in the van now.”

“No, it’s nice out here,” Kris would take advantage of this small upper hand while she could. 

“You’re going to make me suffer, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t put underwear on.” 

“Yup!” Barley scooped her up in one fluid motion and carried her to the van. She cackled the whole way there. 

Barley had another bean bag in the van and they laid blankets half on that and half on the floor. Kris was naked almost immediately and Barley had her held down again against the bean bag making her even more frustrated than she’d been earlier. He ran kisses up and down her torso as his hand moved across her open thighs. His fingers would occasionally glide over her slit, but nothing substantial. It was deliciously torturous. She panted and whimpered, enjoying the soft touches and the freedom of not having to restrain her voice. 

Barley pulled lightly at her nipple with his teeth. Kris let out a yelp of pleasure, “I hate this…” she huffed.

“Say you love it, just once.” Barley said before running his tongue along the curve of her breast and up to her collar bone. His fingers pulled her lips open and rubbed along the edges but he didn’t touch the inside. 

Kris felt like her whole body was vibrating, “How are you so good at this? I can’t stand it…” 

“Say you love it though,” he growled low in her ear. 

“I love it, I love every sec- Oooahhh…” as soon as the words were out of her lips, Barley had slipped two fingers deep into her and make a slow but firm circling motion. Kris’s mouth hung up and the tip of her tongue pushed up against the back of her bottom teeth. Every thought left her mind and all she could concentrate on was the deeply satisfying sensation. A laugh rumbled in Barley’s chest and he kissed her jaw. He slowly pulled his fingers back out and spread her lips again, this time lightly rubbing her clitoral hood. The sharp jolt of pleasure just added to the deeper one she’d just felt and made it even sweeter. She gave an appreciative moan. 

“You’re so wet,” he sighed. 

“I missed you.”

“Not as much as I missed you… How do you want me to fuck you?”

“Behind…” it was her favorite position.

“I dunno if I can do that right now, you’re so tight when we do that.”

“You promised,” she begged. 

He gulped and nodded, “I did, okay.” 

Barley removed the rest of his clothes and put on a condom while Kris positioned herself against the bean bag. She had to stick her butt up as much as possible to make it work. Once Kris had been shy about how demeaning this position looked but it felt so good she’d lost all shame. It allowed Barley’s cock to slide up and down her g-spot perfectly and she could literally come over and over again as long as he held out. 

She reached up between her legs so that she could guide him into her. It only took a few pumps before she was about ready to come for the first time. This position was magic for her. 

“Fuck, you’re tight,” Barley grunted as he held her hips. 

Her pussy felt so good she couldn’t help laughter bubbling out of her, “Don’t stop! More!”

“I can’t…” 

“Harder!”

“I definitely can’t do that…” Barley was breathing hard and halting groans escaped him. Kris was laughing and moaning her pleasure unabashedly. She let out a particularly guttural moan and giggled some more before saying, “Come on, I know you want to, fuck me as hard as you can!” she didn’t really care if he came at this point. 

She could hear him faintly laughing to himself before he slapped her ass hard and started pounding against her vigorously. This just made her laugh even harder and come again, which was good because he was done a few seconds later. 

Kris slumped over on the bean bag, she’d drooled all over the blanket covering it. She couldn’t stop giggling as she panted. Barley was breathing even harder as he fell back on his ankles. 

“Mmmmmhm, I’m gonna need you to do that again in about thirty minutes,” she sighed. It had felt absolutely amazing, but it hadn’t lasted long enough for her to truly feel sated. 

“Fuck woman, you’re going to kill me.” Barley shuddered a laugh and pulled his legs out from under himself. 

“You’re 20, you can do it.” 

“I’m not going to be 20 forever.”

“That’s what toys are eventually for.”

“Oh fuck, using toys on you would be hot as hell…” 

She giggled again and motioned for him to join her against the bean bag. He flopped down next to her making the whole van shake. They stared into each others faces as they regained their breathe. 

“Now I’m cold,” Kris shivered a bit. Barley leaned back and grabbed one of the unused blankets and threw it over both of them and pulled her in close. They exchanged a few tender kisses and just enjoyed being close to each other. 

“Did I tell you Colt got the ball rolling for my citizenship papers and I just need to go down to city hall to finish it up?” 

“No, that’s awesome! I’ll take you down there tomorrow.”

“If we get the dimensional portal working I could be like a dual dimensional citizen.”

“You will be.”

She smiled and nuzzled her head under his chin. 

“Do you think I could be a citizen of your town?” Barley asked.

“Ha!” Kris couldn’t help laughing. “Nooooo, oh babe, noooo.”

“Why not?”

“Well, you seem to be forgetting that where I’m from magic and elves don’t exist, so if you showed up and were like ‘Greetings United States government, I would like a green card please.’ They would be dissecting you faster than you could blink.”

“Ian can put a disguise spell on me so I look human.” 

“Whoa really?”

He nodded.

“That would be so weird! I dunno if I’d like that…”

“When you first got here you were so freaked out by me, you called me a big blue wall!” 

“I did?”

“I distinctly remember feeling shitty about it.” 

“Oh no, really? I was just in shock, I didn’t think anything was real.” 

“Now what do you think of me?”

“Big blue _hot_ wall.” 

He snorted and tickled her. She bucked and wriggled in his arms until she could get out the words to say stop. 

“But seriously, I still don’t think you could get real papers… My country’s immigration system suuuucks. It takes years, even decades for people to get citizenship. And that’s with birth certificates and passports and all that identification junk you don’t have.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No…”

“Why is it like that?”

“It’s. Complicated. Well maybe not, mostly it’s xenophobia and racism… My world really kinda sucks. Specifically my country, honestly.” 

“So no plans for us to live over on your side for a bit?”

This caught Kris off guard, she knew they wanted to stay together for as long as possible, but the topic of concrete future plans had never come up. Besides the heart to heart she’d had with Barley about him not knowing what he wanted to do with his life, the future hadn’t come up at all. Much less a future _together_. 

Kris bit her lip, feeling a little giddy, “I mean… we could do like vacation visits and stuff. See my family on holidays…”

“You probably have completely different holidays over there, huh?”

“Major holidays for us are in the winter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

“We just have a winter solstice festival, basically any major seasonal changes gets a holiday and there are some species specific holidays.”

“My family celebrates the solstice too! Whoa what if we could like… put them together…” Kris had a weird moment of imagining her grandparents in the Lightfoot living room with Blazey trying to lick their faces. They’d probably die of heart attacks.

“I don’t know how well the portal could work but we can try.”

Kris shook her head, “No, I feel like we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We don’t even know if the spell will work or not.” 

“It will.”

“You’re very sure about this.”

“Well it worked once before, right?” he slid his hand up her back and kissed her. Kris melted into him and felt herself heat up again. 

She pulled away just enough to ask, “Time for more?”

Barley reeled back and laughed, “You are horny as hell today!”

“I’ve spent two weeks in bed, Barley and none of it was fucking, I am pent. up.”

He gave her a hungry smile and starting trailing a finger up and down the curve of her hip. “I’m going to need a bit more time, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help you out in other ways.” 

He then proceeded to make good on the promises he’d made before leaving the house.

* * *

“I can’t believe I haven’t asked this yet, but how does magic work?” Kris asked Ian. 

She was now fully recovered and her old routine had basically started up again. This weekend was a LARPing meet up and Barley was sparring with Genny as Kris and Ian watched. They had been casually chatting and the subject of the dimensional portal came up. 

“Barley would have a better answer than me,” Ian shrugged. “It’s basically just manipulating energy that’s already there? I think?”

“Any hard and fast rules?”

“I have to speak from my Heart’s Fire, basically with purpose. And some spells require intense focus or trust in yourself or all of it at once. Some have specific decrees... And I have to hold the staff a certain way.”

“But no calculations or like measuring things out precisely?”

Ian shook his head.

“So more of a soft system than a hard one, got it.” 

“For a person who comes from a place that doesn’t have any magic, you seem pretty comfortable with it.”

“That’s because I’m a giant fucking nerd, Ian.” 

He snorted, “So it’s strictly a nerd thing? I guess I can’t wrap my head around the idea that it doesn’t exist at all where you’re from. Here it’s just a partially obsolete way of doing things. It’s just out of fashion. I think it’s starting to come back though, after what me and Barley did.” 

“It ebs and flows in my world too in terms of popularity, but since it doesn’t exist it’s all cultural stuff. Stories and games and movies and stuff. Fantasy as a genre has never been widely popular though, just certain stories within the genre.”

“Like Lord of the Rings?”

“Yup.” 

“Barley keeps bugging me about watching them, but aren’t they super long?”

“Extremely, I wouldn’t try to watch them all at once. I’m not sure you’d like them to be honest.”

“Is it a lot of earnest talking about quests and stuff?”

“Yes, but there’s action too. A wizard duel and monsters and battles and stuff.” 

“Eh, maybe…”

“It’s okay if it’s not your thing. My sister isn’t into most of what I like either.”

“You have a sister?”

“Yeah,” Kris hesitated a bit, feeling an odd sense of sadness and hope at the same time. “My little sister, Maggie… She and I have about the same age gap as you and Barley.” 

Ian seemed to sense that this was a hard subject and paused before asking, “What’s she like? Or you probably don’t want to answer that.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s weird, you remind me of her a lot even though you’re nothing alike. I guess it’s just little sibling energy or something… She’s really outgoing, loves talking to people and socializing. She can charm just about anybody.”

Ian’s eyebrows went up and he shook his head, “Yeah we sound like exact opposites.” 

“Yeah, I’m closer to you in temperament honestly. Even though I’m older, once we were going to the same high school, people would refer to me as ‘Maggie’s sister’ even though I’d been there two years already.”

Ian chuckled nervously, “I hate to say it, but Barley and I are far enough in age that I could pretend I didn’t know him in his senior year. He kinda had a reputation of being…”

“This.” Kris gestured to Barley in his viking costume, cape flapping as he yelled a battle cry and ran straight at Genny with a club.

“Yup. I didn’t really appreciate him back then, I thought he was kind of embarrassing…”

“Kind of?”

He snickered again, “Okay, he still is, but it’s different now. I realized he’d been supporting me my whole life. He’s not my dad, obviously but…”

“No, I get it. I’ve seen you two, he puts you first always. I don’t think he even realizes how much he does it.” 

Ian looked over at his brother with a fond smile, “I’m lucky to have him… I wish he’d had somebody…”

Kris absently picked at the grass feeling that old grief of a father that never existed. “Yeah… Life isn’t perfect though, we don’t all get good fathers…”

“You too?”

“In a way, yeah…” 

Ian seemed to sense her mood and didn’t pry. “Man, Genny is really kicking his butt, isn’t she?”

Kris gave a low laugh, “She really is, she’s way faster than he is.” 

“Barley really wants to fight in that tournament for the festival this summer. I dunno if he’d win though…”

“Whoa, I totally forgot about the festival…”

“I think Barley did too while you were sick.”

She didn’t know what to add to that. She was a little aware of how much Barley had tortured himself while she was comatose, but she didn’t really want to know the details. It hurt to think about.  
  
Barley lunged at Genny, but she dodged nimbly and kicked him in the back pushing him straight into the ground. He rolled over pretty quickly, but he didn’t get up again. 

“Do you yield, good sir?” Genny stood over him with her sword pointed at his chest. 

Barley spat dirt out of his mouth, “I yield. You have bested me yet again, warrior Genvieve.”

“You really need to learn how to conserve your energy.” Genny said as she gave him a hand up. 

“It’s hard when you move so fast.” 

“You need to be more deliberate with your attacks, if you could land a blow you might get me, you’re a lot stronger than I am.”

Barley nodded as he stood up. Kris could see from here his face was streaked with dirt and the rest of him was drenched in sweat. She grabbed the towel, water and first aide kit she’d learned were essential after any of these meet ups. 

“All right, Barley the Bold, time to check to see if you’re bleeding.” She said walking over. 

“I think I’m good this time,” he said brightly. 

“Well, clean the dirt off first,” Kris wet the towel with water and threw it at him. He wiped his face, wincing a bit as a few mild scraps were exposed. 

“Did you bite your tongue again?” Kris had a laundry list of questions she went through just to make sure they didn’t get all the way home and he suddenly realized he’d broken a toe or something. 

“Nah, there’s just dirt.” He spat again. 

“Here,” she handed him the water. 

Ian came up behind Kris as Barley was rinsing his mouth out. “At least he has us now,” he said quietly, patting her on the shoulder. 

* * *

It was finally finished. Kris had been so close to completing the mural before she’d gotten sick it had been torture to not get it done while she’d been recovering. Being able to sign her initials in the bottom corner was beyond satisfying. She rinsed her brush out quickly and stood back to survey the whole thing at once. Not too bad, not too bad at all. She felt like she could have pushed a few shadows a little further, maybe given some of the clouds more shape, but she could get bogged down with tiny things forever and there came a point where you just had to call it good. Now came the super satisfying part, taking all the tape off. 

“Whoa, are you done?” Shrub looked up from his comic as Kris began pulling the tape from the walls. 

“Yes!” Kris’s voice was infused with exhaustion and pride. 

“So are you going to keep hanging out at the shop or are you going to leave me to suffer with your boyfriend?” 

She paused for a minute. Now that the mural was done she didn’t really know what to do next. Her citizenship papers were being processed and probably wouldn’t be done for another month, so getting a ‘real’ job was out for now.  
  
“I don’t really know what else I’d do…” she said weakly.  
  
“I feel so loved.” Shrub put a hand over his heart.

“You know you’re my best friend, dude.”

“Gross.” 

Kris shook her head and continued to take the tape down. Right as she was finishing, Adele came out of the back room.  
  
“Ah! Wonderful!” Adele’s rumbled louder than Kris had ever heard it. “You have done a most excellent job, I could not have imagined it turning out any better!” 

“Thank you,” Kris said sheepishly as she folded up the tarps. 

“I have some contacts within the Quests of Yore company, I could see if their looking for new artists if you would like?”

Kris blinked stupidly, “Like… a professional job?”

Adele nodded.

Her anxiety spiked instantly. “I don’t even have a portfolio I can show…”

“You have this to start,” Adele waved proudly at the wall. “If they are interested they will most likely ask for sample pieces.”

She held onto a tarp tightly, afraid of what to say. She should say yes, why was it so hard to say yes? 

Barley came through the back room as well, seeing that both his boss and coworker were looking over at the wall he followed their gaze and his eyes lit up. “You finished it?!” His excitement level was immediately at a ten. Kris nodded. 

“AHAHAHAA! IT’S AMAZING!” He rushed over to her and swooped her up into his arms. Kris had been expecting him to do something like this, but it was still jarring how easy he was able to pick her up now. She couldn’t help giggling nervously. Barley’s eyes were still on the mural though, scanning every detail.  
  
“I was just telling Kris, that I have some contacts with the Quests of Yore company,” Adele continued. “I’d be happy to put in a good word for her if they are looking for artists.”  
  
“Yes! You did say yes, right?” Barley looked at her expectantly. 

“Umm, I didn’t really say anything yet…”

He quirked his eyebrow up and gave her a knowing smile. It was his 'I know you can do this' look. 

Kris swallowed and looked over at Adele, “Yeah… I mean, yes I’d love for you to do that.”

Barley kissed her on the cheek and put her down. “What about her payment for the mural?”

Kris and Barley had been talking about this problem, there wasn’t really a good solution. Barley could accept the money on her behalf, but that made Kris a little uncomfortable. She also felt weird asking for the payment entirely in cash. Maybe she’d have to wait until she did have a bank account of her own. 

Adele nodded, “I have written you a check, but Barley has made it clear that you do not have the means to deposit it yet. Shall I keep it for now or give it to you?”

“Uhhh… I’ll take it,” Kris was very curious to see what she’d made for the mural. They hadn’t agreed on a price or really done any kind of paperwork. It was kind of risky to be honest, but it seemed to have worked out. Maybe she made a couple hundred gold or something. 

The check was for 5,000. Kris’s jaw dropped to the floor. “Adele, I can’t accept this! This is way more than I thought… I… wow…”

“I honestly would have paid double if I could,” Adele said grinning. “Even unfinished your mural as brought more customers into the store, it will be invaluable.” 

Kris felt her whole face heat up as she smiled. Barley wrapped his arms around her from behind and squeezed. “You deserve this, my love,” he whispered. 

“You knew how much she was giving me, didn’t you?” she whispered back.

He nodded and kissed her jaw. Kris lifted her hand to hold his face as she stared at the check. It was more money than she’d ever gotten for her artwork. It was more money than she’d ever been given. Barley had helped her get it, she never would have even tried without him. 

“One last thing,” Adele spoke. “I’d like to show your work to the Manticore, see if she needs your skills for the festival. Do I have your permission?”

“Jesus Christ, you’re just going to jump start my entire career, aren’t you?” Kris was flabbergasted.  
  
Adele chuckled, “I like fostering talent when I see it.” She gave Barley a meaningful glance. 

* * *


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questing time, come on grab your friends!   
> With Barley the elf and Kris the human,   
> the fun with never end it's Questing Time!

The month of May came fast and soon Ian was out of school for the summer. He and Barley could now focus on getting the dimensional portal spell to work. Barley explained how magic worked to Kris in greater detail. It was all about manipulating the energy already present in the world. Their dad’s visitation spell had been a kind of focusing enchantment, pulling together the energy of their father for a day. It was strange and somewhat comforting to Kris to think that when people in this world died they became little bits of energy that were all around. 

Barley figured there had to be bits of dimensional energy that they could tap into. He even thought it might be very easy to access Kris’s dimension since it was so similar to theirs. “They might even be linked already somehow, since you have stories about trolls and elves and we have references to your world. We might even be on different sides of the same dimensional plane, I dunno.” 

“So, Ian just has to say the right words and it’ll work?” Kris asked.

“The first spell needed an assist element and I think this one will too. The type of gem you use is important as well since it’ll channel the type of energy that you need. We used an emerald last time but we need a more stable connection this time, so I think we’ll need these.” Barley held up a Quests of Yore book, the page was open to a list of assist gems. His finger tapped an entry for a kind of sapphire. 

“Okay… how do we get one of those?”

Barley’s face split into one of his excited manic grins.

* * *

Kris had already visited the Manticore’s Tavern back when she was collecting reference for the mural, but she hadn’t been able to actually meet the Manticore. She was gigantic, easily 8 feet tall with a massive beastly frame. Combined with how deferential Barley was immediately being, Kris couldn’t help feeling intimidated and a little scared. 

“Oh great Manticore, we are on a quest once again and are in need of your knowledge!” Barley was kneeling, his beanie in hand. Kris and Ian just stood there awkwardly. 

“Please don’t tell me you need another Phoenix Gem…” the Manticore sighed. 

“Nay, we are in need of Spectral Sapphires!” 

She smiled with a vaguely amused expression, “What’s it for this time? Not for another dead relative, I hope.”

“Um… it’s for me, actually…” Kris waved her hand half-heartedly. 

“Oh! Is this Kris? The girl from another dimension? Laurel’s told me so much about you! Nice to meet you!” the Manticore caught Kris’s hand in an enthusiastic hand shake or… paw shake? Kris’s hand was completely consumed and she noticed the claws had pink nail polish on them. This was a weirdest thing to happen to her and she lived with a centaur. 

“H-hi, nice to meet you too,” Kris was trying her best to not look terrified. 

“We’re trying to open up a portal back to Kris’s dimension,” Ian explained. 

“Fascinating! Nothing like a bit of inter-dimensional travel to get the blood pumping! But I’m not sure I should tell you where the gems are anyway…”

“Not again…” Ian grumbled. 

“Please, your dominance! Kris was pulled from her home without being able to say goodbye to her family! She needs to be able to go back!” 

Kris loved her doofy boyfriend so much. 

“There’s not another curse, is there?” Ian asked. 

“No, but the cavern in which these gems are located is guarded by a fearsome beast. It’s best left alone.”

“If you could assist us in slaying it that would be a great boon!” Barley pleaded hopefully. 

“Kids, I have a business to run and a festival to plan, I don’t have time to slay anything at the moment.”

“Yeah and I don’t want to have anything murdered for my sake,” Kris added. 

“How about I help you three when the festival is over, okay? How does sometime in September sound?”

Kris’s stomach sank, she didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but she wanted to check back home as soon as possible. The more months she spent puttering around here, was more time her family would spend thinking she’d abandoned them or died. She didn’t want to wait four more months. 

“But-” Barley started.

“Trust me, I’m all for adventure these days, but I still can’t let you go to those caverns unsupervised. And you don’t seem to be in quite the time crunch as last time. This can wait.” The Manticore gave a friendly smile to Kris. “Oh! And I’ve been talking to Adele Rune, she tells me you’re quite the artist and could help with designs for the festival! I’ll call the Lightfoot house later in the week and we can set up a meeting to talk.”

“Oh… yeah, okay.” Kris smiled wanly. 

“I have to run, see you kids later!” and with that, the Manticore disappeared into the Tavern’s kitchens. 

“Well, at least we didn’t set the Tavern on fire this time,” Ian huffed as they all headed back to the van. 

Kris tried to swallow her disappointment but it was difficult.  
  
“I can work with this…” Barley mused, he was biting his nails in thought. 

“How? All we know is that there’s a giant monster we can’t get past. We don’t even know where we need to go,” Ian said.

“I need to see a map,” Barley said and climbing into the van. Kris followed by hopping in the passenger seat and Ian climbed into the back. 

Barley had pulled out his road map and he spread it out over the dashboard. “I don’t think she meant to, but the Manticore gave us a good clue as to where the sapphires might be.” He scanned around with his finger over the map. “She said they were in some caverns and I know there’s a plaa… Aha!” His finger landed on a marker labeled “Untold Caverns”. It was northeast of New Mushroomton in a mountain range. 

“We don’t even know if the gems are even there, though…” Ian muttered.

“No, but this is the only lead we have and it’s either check this out or wait four months,” Barley reasoned. 

“What about the monster? I don’t want to kill anything,” Kris shook her head.

“Both of you seem to be forgetting we have a young wizard in our party!” 

“Barley, I’ve fought one curse dragon and that was to help you see Dad, it’s not something I want to get into the habit of doing.”  
  
“But we don’t have to fight it! There are spells to sneak past a foe!” 

Both Ian and Kris looked unsure. Kris wanted to believe in Barley’s plan, the sooner she could visit home the better, but this quest was starting off on shaky legs. 

* * *

Kris’s feeling of unease followed her through the day until she had to go to bed. 

“Hey, it’s going to be fine, trust me.” Barley slid his arm under her neck as he laid on his side to look at her. 

“I do, I’ve just never done anything like this, obviously and we don’t have a lot to go off of and-”

Barley stilled her lips with a finger, “You haven’t done it before, but I have. I trust my gut and it’s got a good feeling about this.”

His confidence was reassuring, but only to a point. This quest was dangerous, there was no telling what would actually happen. Barley tilted her chin over to face him and ran his thumb over her lips. “You’re going to be nervous no matter what, huh?”

“Of course I am. This is stuff I’ve only read about in books and never thought it would ever happen to me, because it was all fiction. How is my brain supposed to process that I’m going on a quest with my elf boyfriend and his wizard brother to find a magical gem stone?”

“You wanna come?” Barley said excitedly.

“You were going to let me not go?”

He chuckled, “I was prepared to have to coax you into it, but if you really didn’t want to that would have been fine. But this is way better!”

“I feel like if I didn’t go, I’d be betraying the little 13 year old in me that wished with all her heart to go on some magical adventure.” 

“This is gonna be awesome, I can’t wait!”

“Are we leaving tomorrow? Or… when are we doing this?”

“We can, I don’t have another shift until Saturday.”

“What do we need to bring?”

“Hmmm… last time all we had was a kid’s menu and a couple of bags of cheese puffs…”

“I feel like we can do better than that.”

“Agreed, supply run in the morning and then onward ho!”   
  
* * *

The next morning, Kris woke up to the sounds of Barley packing. Since he had no windows it was impossible to tell whether it was day or not, but he only had a small desk light on. It seemed early, neither of them were early risers but especially Barley. Kris was usually the first to wake up in the morning. 

“What time is it?” she mumbled blearily. 

“Oh! You’re awake! Good!” he switched on the main lights. 

She grunted and shielded her eyes, “Babe, it feels super early, why are you up already?”

“I couldn’t sleep and Ian gets up early most days anyway. I’ve got a sleeping bag we can share and I’ve got shields and weapons in the van already. I’ve got the road map, a compass, oh! A spyglass would be good!” He pulled open one of his desk drawers and started rummaging through it. 

“So when you said tomorrow you meant like as soon as we woke up?” Kris smirked. It was kind of adorable how excited he was. 

“Of course! Haven’t you heard of moving out at first light?”

“Wull yeah, but Barley it’s…” Kris glanced back at the clock on the night stand. “FOUR AM?!? Your brother does not get up at 4 o’clock in the goddamn morning. Only bakers and the criminally insane wake up at 4 am! First light won’t happen for like another three hours!”

“We still have to go to the store and stock up on energy drinks and food.”

“And water.”

“Sure, yeah.”

“That won’t take three hours…”

“So we get to head out sooner!”

“Are stores even open this early?”

“Gas stations are.”

Kris snickered wondering what she’d gotten herself into. “Come here, I have something to tell you…”

“What?” Barley was still putting things into an old beat up backpack. 

“Come’re.”

He reluctantly left the pack and went over to the bed. As he leaned down, Kris grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down to her. “You’re being very cute right now, but I still want to be asleep. Please come back to bed.” She kissed his nose and then his mouth, running her hands through his hair and hoping that would work. Barley hummed approval as she kissed him and began to sink into her. She started to relax and enjoy a sleepy make out session but Barley pulled back all of a sudden.

“I have rope I should put in the van!” and he was off again. 

She was going to have to get out of bed…

* * *

Of course the rest of the house was dead asleep, even Blazey didn’t wake up when they came up the stairs. Kris convinced Barley they could go to a gas station before waking up Ian. She would spare his little brother for as long as she could. She wasn’t even sure if he had agreed to go today, but she was sure Barley would try everything to talk him into it. 

Once as the nearest gas station, Barley filled up Guinie 2 and the spare gas can, got a bundle of firewood, and a whole pile of unhealthy snacks and energy drinks. Kris snuck in some apples, carrot sticks, and a case of water bottles because she did not want to live off of preservatives for how ever many days. Hopefully it wouldn’t take more than two, the caverns didn’t look that far out of town. 

Back home it was still dark outside, Kris persuaded Barley to pack the van before getting Ian. She then decided to make and pack some sandwiches, she didn’t know how many Wild Boar Stix she could handle but she didn’t think it was a lot. 

Laurel seemed to have heard them and came downstairs bleary eyed and yawning. Colt was already up drinking his morning coffee, he seemed at a loss for what to do. 

“Why are you up at 5 am?” Laurel asked dimly. Barley came back inside and waved before walking down into his room. “Why is _Barley_ up at 5 am?”

“Quest,” Kris said dully as she slapped some lunch meat on a piece of bread.  
  
“Ah… and it’s for?”

“It get some gem stone for my dimensional portal spell.”

“Okay… wait, Ian isn’t going is he?”

“We kind of need him for the magic stuff,” Kris gritted her teeth. She hadn’t thought about how Laurel would react to her sons going on yet another dangerous mission. 

“Please tell me there’s not another curse…”

“No, the Manticore said there was only a giant monster.”

“Oh only a giant monster, great!”

“Barley thinks we can sneak past it.”

“Does he now.” 

“Yeah…” 

“Were you guys planning on telling me about this quest?”

Kris’s face of pure panic let her know that at least Kris hadn’t even thought about it.  
  
“Well, at least you’re making sure they aren’t eating nothing but junk food…”

“You aren’t going to stop us?”

“I’ve learned from experience that once my boys, especially Barley… actually always Barley, when he gets an idea in his head it’s almost impossible to stop him. And Ian can protect all three of you and you can make sure they don’t die of malnutrition.”

“Imma try to make’em wear sunscreen too.”

“Good luck with that. Make sure Ian has his phone, and that you check in with me every day you're gone.” She patted Kris on the back and went to make herself breakfast. 

Once Kris got the sandwiches packed, she started getting herself ready. She didn’t really have any good gear for hiking. She assumed they’d be on foot at some point. Kris was very comfortable with at least the camping and hiking portion of this quest. Her family was extremely outdoorsy and she’d practically grown up wandering around mountains and deserts. She didn’t like it as much as the rest of her family did, but it was at least familiar to her. 

She packed her sweat pants and extra underwear and socks. She grabbed extra socks for Barley too because having wet feet was unpleasant and could give you all kinds of trouble if you didn’t do something about it. She got her toothbrush and Barley’s because he definitely wasn’t going to remember that, and two sticks of deodorant. She went into the up stairs bathroom to grab sun block and an extra first aide kit, just in case. Lastly she pulled her hair back into the best braid she could manage. That would keep it out of the way for a while at least. 

Coming back down the stairs, Barley had already woken Ian up and he was drowsily leaning up against his splinter staff. 

“I tried to make him let you sleep for longer…” she patted his shoulder sympathetically. 

“I kinda figured he’d do this…” Ian muttered. “I made a list and packed last night…”

“Good man. I made sandwiches and made Barley buy water.”

“He was just going to buy soda, wasn’t he?”

“Worse, energy drinks.”

“How has he not gotten a kidney stone by now…?”

Kris snickered. 

Barley came into the house looking annoyingly awake, “You two ready? Let’s go! We have a quest to embark on!” 

“Lord, your energy level is a bit much right now…” Kris mumbled. 

“Come on! It’s your first ever quest!”

“I’d like it better if I’d been able to sleep for another two hours…”

“You can sleep in the van.”

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so the quest begins!  
> These next few chapters are loooonngg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention of a dead animals.

Despite Barley’s usual recklessly excited driving, Kris dozed off on the bean bag pretty quickly and completely conked out once they were on the express way. Ian was drowsy but awake. He still felt hesitant about this whole quest. He’d learned to trust Barley’s gut the last time around, but this time it seemed like they had even less to go on. 

“How are we going to make it past a monster, exactly?” He asked.

“Invisibility spell! Visage Ivisio! To become truly invisible we have to appear as if we belong.” Barley quoted instantly.

“Okay, how do we appear as if we belong?”

“We have to believe that we’re supposed to be there at all times. If we get nervous or try to run the spell won’t work.” 

“Oh good, cause I’m not a nervous person at all…” 

“Iandore Lightfoot, you’ve mastered many spells and fought a fearsome stone dragon! You can absolutely do this spell in your sleep.”

Ian couldn’t help smiling at his brother’s confidence in him. “I hope this turns out to be the right cavern…”

“If it isn’t, we’ll keep looking, but I have a good feeling about it.” 

“This quest feels a lot more relaxed than the last one, it’s nice not having a ticking clock.”

“Seriously, and we don’t have Colt to fuck things up either.”

“Or sprites that want to kill us.”

“Hey, the Pixie Dusters turned out pretty cool! They gave me an honorary patch since I helped them figure out how to fly.” Barley leaned forward and pointed to the back of his vest where the Pixie Dusters emblem was. 

“One grappled my arm with a chain on the highway and I nearly died.”

“I got it off in time.” 

Ian shook his head, his brother really did try to see the best in everyone. Well mostly, Colt seemed to be an exception. 

A small snorting sound started in the back of the van and eventually grew louder and louder. 

“Your girlfriend snores louder than you do.” Ian said with amusement, looking back at Kris. She was sprawled like a starfish on the bean bag, mouth hanging open and completely dead to the world. 

“Yup…” Barley’s tone suggested he was all too familiar. “I can sometimes nudge her enough to stop but most the time she just gets loud enough to wake herself up.”

Ian snickered. 

“It only really happens when she’s super knocked out, she must have been really tired.”

“She is definitely out… do you think I could try flicking these candies into her mouth from here?”

“No!” Barley looked back at Kris as she snored loudly. “Okay maybe… but if you wake her up tell her I tried to stop you.” 

Ian tried a few shots but couldn’t quite make it to her mouth, several landed on her but she didn’t move a muscle. One hit her on the forehead and she stopped snoring. 

“I didn’t get one in her mouth, but I feel like I should get bonus points for that.”

“Get any down her shirt?”

Ian blushed slightly, “That was actually the easiest thing to do…” 

“She’s gonna be so confused,” Barley snickered trying to keep from full on laughing. 

“I gave her snacks for later,” Ian quipped. That made Barley loose it. Kris still didn’t wake up.

* * *   
  
Eventually they drove to a point where they needed to veer off onto unpaved roads. Barley wasn’t sure of the best route to take so he’d pulled over at the side of road to figure it out. It was also a good opportunity to stretch their legs. 

Kris crawled out of the van looking groggy; stopping must have woken her up finally. 

“Care to explain why I woke up covered in these?” she said walking up to Ian with a little candy in her fingers. 

Barley couldn’t help full on laughing again. Ian had the good sense to look ashamed. Kris flicked the candy at his face. “Please control your child.” she side eyed Barley. 

His face morphed into a sheepish grin.

Kris rolled her eyes and walked down the road a ways. The Lightfoot brothers shared a guilty glance at each other. 

“Hey! I found a way I can get back at you idiots!” She called, standing over something on the side of the road. 

As Barley approached he realized she was standing over some roadkill. It had been a unicorn but it had decayed quite a bit and he could see the skeleton coming out. Ian came up behind him and audibly grimaced.  
  
“Ready to learn something real weird about me?” Kris looked very pleased with how visibly disgusted Ian looked. 

“No.” Ian shook his head.

Barley experienced a strange sensation of being very interested and repulsed at the same time. He had no idea if this was going to be awesome or if he had to rethink his entire relationship with Kris.  
  
“I’m actually super into vulture culture,” Kris said using her foot to nudge the unicorn’s horn up. 

“I’m sorry… what?” Ian squinted. 

“Vulture culture, it’s a subculture of taxidermy. Basically collecting the remains of animals that have died naturally or… by car.” 

“You want to pick that up and keep it?” Ian’s voice was absolutely horrified. 

“Well, I mean not now, we could get it on the way back.” 

Ian looked up at Barley with horror filled eyes that begged him to leave the roadkill on the side of the road and probably Kris too. 

Barley was weirdly fascinated, “but… why?” he asked. 

“I collect bones!” Kris said cheerfully. “I’ve got a couple raccoon skulls, a bunch of different birds, squirrels… I got a fox skull too, that was a cool find. I like to make little terrariums with them once they’re clean, make it look like moss and mushrooms are growing out of them. I saw a blog once that grew crystals on them and I’ve always wanted to try it!”

“How… do you clean them…?” Barley was still a little grossed out, but he was starting to feel like this was awesome. She was just so cute when she was excited and it was oddly more appealing when it was about something weird. 

“Soaking them in hydrogen peroxide to start and then I give them to the beetles. Oh shit! My colony is probably dead by now… there’s no way my mom took care of them… damn it…” her face fell. 

“Beetles?!” Ian squeaked.  
  
“Yeah, dermestid beetles. They eat dead flesh of off bones, it’s the only way you can really get all the little bits off.”

“Eeaauughhhh!” Ian’s whole body shuddered. 

“Our house is gonna be so cool…” Barley muttered under his breath. He could picture all the weird little finds she’d bring home and make into something oddly beautiful. 

“Hmmm?” Kris looked up at him, “you say something?” 

Barley shook his head to clear away the day dream, “Uhhh, that’s just… that’s actually really cool.”

“Yeah?” She gave him a shy look, a bit of a blush creeping on her cheeks. _Shit, she’s so cute…_ he thought. 

“I don’t want to be in the same car as you two, in fact I don’t want to be in the same town. I’m moving out as soon as the quest is over.” Ian’s eyes darted back and forth between Kris and Barley as they stared at each other with dumb smiles on their faces. 

“Right! The quest!” Barley snapped back, his head felt a little dizzy. He cleared his throat and pulled out the road map. “I actually think we’ll have to take the Path of Peril for a bit before forking off onto another road…” 

“Are you not going to tell her to leave the dead rotting corpse alone?!” Ian asked desperately.

“Oh relax, I don’t even have a set up here to clean it. I just wanted to freak you out.” 

“But you would take it if you did?”

“One hundred percent, I’m kinda mad I can’t.” 

“ _Please_ don’t start bringing dead animals home…”

“Only if you don’t throw shit at me while I’m unconscious.”

“Fair trade.” 

* * *

Going on unpaved roads in Guinie 2 was always rough, but the Path of Peril felt particularly turbulent to Kris. She was glad she’d got a bit of a nap early even if she had woken up covered in little candies. She had to fish out about five of the damn things out of her cleavage. She’d give Barley a scolding later on. The landscape was surreal, giant twisting bean stalks shot out of the ground everywhere making this world seem more otherworldly and fairy tale-esque than usual. She wished she could take a picture with her phone but the ride was far too bumpy. 

Barley was in excellent spirits, he was always a pretty jovial guy, but here he seemed very much in his element. Ian was busy trying to read up on the enchanter’s guide book, Kris didn’t know if he was actually able to read anything. 

They didn’t stay on the Path for very long, Barley made a right turn onto a road after about a mile or two. This road wasn’t nearly as bad but the scenery wasn’t as spectacular. They were headed toward a mountain range off in the distance with rolling plains in between. It was approaching midday with the sun towards the highest point of the sky. Kris realized she hadn’t eaten much for breakfast and opened the cooler to eat a sandwich. 

“You guys want lunch?” She asked as she unwrapped a turkey sandwich for herself. 

“Should I accept food from a roadkill enthusiast?” Ian joked half-heartedly.   
  
“I do at least cook the meat before I eat it,” Kris said dryly, making Barley guffaw.  
  
“Auugh, don’t even joke about that.” 

Barley gladly accepted a turkey sandwich and Ian took a pb & j.  
  
“Are we going to make it to the caverns today?” Kris asked as she ate.

“I’ll drive for as long as I can, but if it’s getting dark by the time we have to walk, we should probably camp for the night.” Barley said with a mouthful of sandwich. 

“I haven’t been camping in forever,” she mused.

“I’ve never been camping,” Ian added.

“Yeah, Dad was the one into camping,” Barley said off-handedly.  
  
“Really? I didn’t know that…”

“He’d drag Mom out all the time. I don’t really remember any actual trips but there’s pictures.” 

“Huh…” 

The Lightfoot brothers fell silent. Kris felt like an awkward third wheel until Barley spoke again. 

“Your family camp a lot, Kris?”

“Oh, yeah tons. My mom is super outdoorsy, I was camping and hiking by the time I was three months old. I’ve walked across the canyons by my city so many times if you dropped me randomly in the middle of one I could find my way to a road or something.”

“Wow, that’s impressive.” Ian looked back at her, “I wouldn’t have pegged you for being super outdoorsy…” 

“I’m not actually, it’s just comfortable because I grew up doing it. When I moved out I didn’t really do any hiking or camping. Now that I’m here though I do miss the desert.” 

“I thought you said you lived by mountains.”

“I did, but the southern part of my state is a big desert full of red rock. I love it down there…”

There was a pause as Kris felt a wave of homesickness take her. It didn’t feel as bad as before, now there was a small light at the end of the tunnel. Still she’d give anything to wake up one morning in Capital Reef or Escalante. 

“So…” Barley broke the silence, he sounded confused. “Are there just red rocks everywhere? Like red red?”

“Ha!” Kris chuckled. “Basically yeah. Here let me show you.” 

* * *

Barley hadn’t expected Kris to have her phone with her, much less pull it out and show them pictures. He had to stop the van because he wasn’t going to miss a chance to see them. 

“Umm…” Kris was scrolling through her phone. “This one is good.” 

She lowered the phone in between Barley and Ian. It was a wide open picture of a desert landscape, but giant columns of shockingly rusty red rocks jutted out of the ground. They looked as if they’d grown out of the earth itself. 

“Holy hell…” Barley took the phone to look at it closer. “That’s so weird looking!”

Ian pulled at his hand to look at it too. “That definitely looks like another dimension.” 

“Yeah, I guess it does…” Kris said wistfully. Barley could hear the sadness in her voice, he better give the phone back. 

“Oh! Is that your sister?” Ian had swiped to the next image. Barley felt a jolt of panic and looked up at Kris. A flash of pain went across her face but she shook it away and smiled weakly at Barley. She shrugged and motioned that it was okay for him and Ian to look. He was torn between curiosity and wanting to keep Kris from feeling too homesick. She gestured again that it was fine as he hesitated. 

“Yeah, that’s Maggie,” she said. 

Maggie… Barley hadn’t even known her sister’s name. The picture was a portrait of the two of them in the same desert, their smiling faces close together. Maggie’s head leaned into Kris’s. Kris looked younger than she did now, with a different shorter hair cut and her glasses frames were a different color too. Maggie had blonde hair and green eyes, in contrast with Kris’s dark brown hair and eyes. Maggie was also leaner and had a slightly longer face. Despite these differences they were undoubtedly sisters. 

Before Barley could process anything, Ian swiped again. This time an older woman with sunglasses was in the picture with them, smiling broadly as her arms held Kris and Maggie on either side of her. 

“My mom…” Kris said softly. 

Barley felt like this was going too far. “Ian, we should give the phone back.”

“No, it’s okay,” Kris said quickly. “I’ve already looked at those pictures a thousand times since coming here… Besides it doesn’t hurt in the same way, it’s kind of a good hurt now.”

Barley looked back at the photo. Her mom was lean like her sister, but her hair was closer to Kris’s, more on the auburn side. It was surreal looking at these pictures. He was painfully aware that Kris had had a life before coming to him, but seeing tangible evidence of the fact was jarring. It brought things into starker clarity. Ian went to the next picture.

This time it was a man sitting in a camp chair with a furry white wolf dragon-like creature laying down by his feet. He looked closer to her mom’s age but Barley couldn’t see any family resemblance. 

“That’s Hank, my step dad.” Kris said flatly. 

“You have a Colt?” Barley asked.

“Sure do.”

“You seem to like him as much as Barley likes Colt,” Ian chuckled. 

“Hank’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s just… Hank.”  
  
Barley instantly knew what she meant. It wasn’t that Colt was a bad person, he was just somebody Barley was stuck interacting with. He hadn’t chosen to do it and he didn’t really want to, but he had to anyway. It didn't help that he fell of the opposite side of Barley's historical activism either. 

“What’s that thing?” Ian pointed to the creature.

“Holy shit, I just realized you guys don’t have dogs here… Ooooohhh that’s so weird.” 

“Is it your pet?” Barley guessed. 

“Yeah, that’s Luke. He’s a grumpy old man now… he better not have kicked the bucket while I’ve been gone.” 

“What are dogs like?” Ian asked.

“Basically the same as Blazey but they aren’t scaly and they don’t have the ability to breathe fire.”

“Blazey can only really make tiny flames, though,” Barley shrugged.

“I’ll never get used to that being just a normal thing to say.” 

Ian handed Kris’s phone back, “I feel like we should keep moving and not get too distracted.” 

“Wise words, sir Ian!” Barley felt a sense of a relief in not having Kris’s past out for display. He knew they were actively working to get her back, but it still felt voyeuristic and strange. The old guilt of having ‘caused’ her to be here was also trying to rear it’s ugly head. He started up Guinie 2 and they were off again. 

“If we get the portal working maybe I’ll take you guys there…” Kris said after a minute. The way she spoke it sounded as if she’d meant that to be a private thought that slipped out. 

Barley brightened at the idea. A future where he was part of the family pictures too. “Yeah! I wanna stand on one of those columns of rock!”

Kris laughed loudly, “That’s an absolutely terrible idea!” 

“Ah, come on! You know it would be cool.”

“I guess, but you’d have to scale hundreds of feet of sheer rock.”

“I could cast a flying spell,” Ian suggested, pointing to the page in the enchanter’s guide book. 

“Hell yeah!”

“That’s an even worse idea…” Kris shook her head. 

* * * 

They drove for several more hours until the mountains grew larger and larger. Eventually they drove into a wide sloping canyon and the road faded off into nothing, leaving only wilderness. Guinie 2 wouldn’t be going any farther on this quest. At least Kris hoped Barley wouldn’t try to drive straight into the mountainous woods. 

It wasn’t dark outside yet but it was late enough in the day for Ian and Kris to talk Barley out of immediately trying to find the caverns. They had a map and a compass but there wasn’t a trail or any kind of markers to guide them to where it was. It was best to wait until they had a good amount of daylight to go searching. 

In the mean time, Barley suggested that Ian try the invisibility spell that would hopefully help them get past whatever monster was guarding the entrance to the cave. The trick to the spell was that you had to believe whole-heartedly that you belonged where you were at the moment. 

The first time Ian did it to himself and he was only partially successful. His body faded into transparency but Kris was still able to see a shimmery outline that was clearly Ian. 

“Wow! I can barely tell where you are!” Barley laughed enthusiastically. 

“But you can still see me…” Ian grumbled.

“It’s your first try, you’ll get the hang of it!”

Ian put the spell on Barley next who completely vanished into thin air. 

“Whoa, that is freaky…” Kris blinked at the now seemingly empty air. 

“Did it work? I can still see myself,” Barley’s disembodied voice asked. 

“Yeah it definitely worked,” Ian affirmed. 

“Ha! This is wild! You guys really can’t see me!” His voice was moving and Kris could hear his foot steps in the dirt, but there wasn’t even a trace of him to her eyes. 

An uneasy silence fell as both Ian and Kris completely lost track of even the general direction he was in. 

“He’s going to scare one of us, isn’t he?” Kris groaned. 

Ian only grumbled in agreement. 

A few more seconds past and Kris felt silly for being so tense. It was only Barley, he’d probably just grab her from behind like normal. 

She felt a slight tug on her braid and snorted, “He’s going to milk this for as long as he can. You can reserve the spell right?” 

Ian shook his head, “I have no idea, but it has to wear off eventually.” 

“Peachy… you should at least time it so we know how long the spell lasts.” 

“Good idea,” Ian started a timer on his watch. 

“Look at you two working together!” Barley voice said proudly behind them. Kris felt his arm wrap around her waist and saw Ian’s shoulders jerk towards her as well. “We’re gonna get into those caverns no problem!” 

It was very strange to feel Barley up against her without actually seeing him. Kris looked over at Ian and he just looked resigned to his fate. 

“You know exactly how long this spell lasts, don’t you?” Kris poked at an unseen arm. She could feel his chest rumble along her back. 

“Barley, let go of us so I can try the spell on Kris,” Ian said good naturedly. 

“Let me do something first!” 

Ian seemed to have been let go of but Kris was still stuck and worse still she suddenly found herself up in the air. She could feel Barley hold her up, he was warm and sturdy, but that didn’t stop her brain from freaking out. 

“Oh sweet Jesus that’s weird! I don’t like this!” 

She could hear and feel low chuckles from Barley and Ian seemed just as amused at her reaction.  
  
“Put me down!” 

“Not yet,” Barley whispered and Kris could feel his hands go up her thighs and his face bury into her chest. She was certain her face went beet red. 

“No! Stop! Why?” She knew exactly why, but it was embarrassing with his brother there. 

“Don’t want to know what’s happening,” Ian said shortly and walked away. 

Kris was thankful at least one brother was modest. Barley on the other hand was kissing her cleavage as if nobody else was there and putting his hands where they should not be. Her chin rested on the top of Barley’s invisible head. She knew if she wriggled in his arms he would just have more fun. This would have been fun for her too if not for the circumstances. 

“Babe, you know this is just an invisibility spell, not a sound proof spell,” she said quietly. “Also I don’t want a hickey on my boob again.” 

She felt his breathe on her skin as he laughed. “Sorry, I just know we can’t really do much for the next day or two.” 

“I think we can survive it.” 

Barley sighed and let her down. Going down felt just as disconcerting as going up had felt. 

“Okay, please use your shirt to wipe off your spit, because I don’t want drool on my tits for the rest of the day.”

“Oh, sorry…” 

“How long does the spell last?” Kris asked while Barley wiped her off. 

“20 minutes.” 

She nodded. “Okay, Ian. Let’s try the spell on me.”

“You guys done being gross?”

“That was purely Barley and only Barley being gross,” Kris clarified. 

“Why did I ever try to put you two in the same room…” Ian mumbled. He shook his head and loosened his shoulders before getting into his stance and reciting the spell on Kris. “Visage Invisio!”

Kris didn’t feel anything but Barley had said he could still see himself, so she had no way of knowing if it even worked. Ian’s expression gave her a clue though. 

“Huh…” he frowned. 

“Did it not work?” she asked. 

“Lemme try again,” he did so, but he frowned even more afterward. 

“That’s weird,” Barley’s voice said several feet away. 

“What?” Kris was starting to feel self-conscious. 

“It looks like the spell is just bouncing off of you,” Ian’s face was wrinkled up in confusion. 

“Try it again,” Barley said.

He did, but it seemed to have the same affect.  
  
“Ooohh! No…” Barley gasped in sudden realization.

“What?” Ian and Kris asked in unison. 

“For the spell to work you have to believe you belong…” 

Kris blanched. Fundamentally her brain knew she didn’t belong here. Not just in these woods, she didn’t belong in this dimension. The invisibility spell would never work on her as long as she was here. “Oh,” her heart sank a bit. “No magic quest for me then…” 

Ian still seemed confused, but worked it out a few seconds later. His face fell into sympathetic understanding. 

Kris exhaled, feeling a little lost and hollow. 

Warm arms suddenly wrapped around her as Barley pulled her into a hug. Even though she couldn’t see him, his presence was incredibly reassuring. The hollow feeling replaced with a growing warmth and peace. She sniffed and wrapped her arms around him too. 

“Whoa!” Ian balked. 

“What? Oh!” Barley’s voice sounded surprised too.

Kris looked up at where she thought Barley’s face was for a split second and then over at Ian. Ian’s eyes looked like they were searching and couldn’t connect to her. 

“Wait…” she looked down at herself but she was still there. 

“Well how about that…” Barley’s voice was low and full of shocked emotion. His arms squeezed her tighter. 

She was invisible… She choked back tears realizing what had happened. Kris belonged with Barley, she knew that in her bones. She hugged him tighter too and buried her face in his chest, laughing shakily and trying really hard not to cry. 

“I don’t understand, why is she invisible now?” Ian sounded dumbfounded. 

Kris couldn’t explain it right now or she would start actually crying. She felt Barley’s hand trace her back and shoulder, up to her neck and finally up her chin to her lips. Once he found them with his thumb, the heat of his face came next and he kissed her slowly at first, orienting himself and then more intensely. He kissed her like he belonged to her, radiating the sense that anything of him she wanted, she could take. Kris’s hands found their way up to his hair and brought him in to kiss her more deeply. She heard him make a happy shuddering moan. 

“Okay! I’m hearing more gross sounds, I’m hiding in the van now!” Ian’s voice called out before a car door slammed. 

Kris only chuckled to herself this time, she didn’t care anymore. With her eyes closed the disorienting feeling vanished and she could relish purely in the sensation of kissing Barley. She always enjoyed it, but this was different from before. The urgency was gone, replaced with a languid calm. They could take their time now. 

They slowed after a bit and held their foreheads against each other. Kris didn’t feel the need to say anything, the spell had revealed her feelings for her. Barley seemed equally content, running lazy circles on her back with his fingers. 

“I kind of want to scare the shit out of your brother for throwing candy at me early,” Kris confessed.

Barley snorted, “It seems only fair that I help you since I was complicit in said candy throwing.” 

* * *

Ian finally got a handle on the invisibility spell for himself and proceeded get back at Kris and Barley for shaking the van with him in it.  
  
The sun started to set and they decided to dig a make-shift fire pit to cook their dinners which turned out to just be marshmallows. Kris was very glad she had brought actual food along with them. Getting a fire to light in the wilderness was a lot easier when there was a wizard with you; Ian got a blaze going very quickly.

Barley was absolutely terrible at roasting marshmallows. The first few he intentionally set on fire, but even when he tried in earnest they all got a layer of charcoal. 

“I need to teach you how to cook,” Kris said off handedly. 

“I know how to cook,” Barley said slightly defensively. 

Ian burst out laughing to that reply. 

“What? It’s not that hard, you just put ingredients together and add heat, simple!”

“Yeah, it’s how much heat you’re adding that seems to be the problem,” Kris narrowed her eyes at another marshmallow bursting into flames. 

“It only makes sense that if you add more heat, it cooks faster.” 

“Is that why when you had to make a cake for home ec. in high school, you set the oven to 500?” Ian teased.

That made Kris crack up, “Pfft, what?! 500!?! Degrees?”

“It was the highest the oven would go…” Barley sighed. 

“The home ec. teacher ended up giving him a passing grade just because he didn’t want Barley ruining the equipment any more.”   
  
Kris snickered, “Hey, a pass is a pass. Doesn’t mean you can cook though.” 

“I’ll just live off fast food then,” Barley popped the burnt marshmallow into his mouth.

“Nuh-uh, I want you to live past forty. I’m teaching how to cook.” Kris said firmly. She thought that might offend him a bit, but instead he gave her a warm look that made her blush. She bit her lip and decided to change the subject. “I kinda wish we had metal skewers instead of sticks. When I was a kid I’d put them in the hot coals and get them glowing and then stick them through the marshmallows. They’re so good that way…” 

“That sounds even less safe then what Barley’s doing now,” Ian scoffed.

“Oh definitely. I burnt myself a lot. One time I was over excited and put one in my mouth before I’d moved the skewer and I couldn’t feel the tip of my tongue for a year.” 

“Why do you sound proud of that?” Ian scrunched up his face.

Kris shrugged and brought her marshmallow up from the fire to eat it. “They are really good that way though, it caramelizes all the sugar and makes them gooey and chewy.”

“See, why does searing hot metal cook the marshmallow but fire instantly burns it? I don’t understand…” Barley grumbled. 

Kris thought about that for a minute before replying, it was and interesting question. “Cause metal cools down over time, but fire is literally pure energy.”

“Fuck, you’re smart…” Barley muttered. 

“You’re saying this about a girl who put her tongue on red hot metal,” Ian side eyed his brother.

“I was smart enough to not do it again,” Kris countered. 

They stayed up chatting by the fire for a while. In the middle of it Kris remembered that she’d promised to make Ian call his mom. She hoped it wasn’t too late, but if Laurel was anything like her own mom it wouldn’t have mattered how late the call was just as long as it happened.

After the marshmallows were gone, mostly consumed by Barley and Ian, the conversation lagged and Kris was getting drowsy. She yawned and leaned up against Barley more, feeling herself droop into sleep. He put his arm around her and let her settle in against him.

“Hey Barley,” Ian spoke after a long silence. “If we get lost trying to find this cavern, how are we going to find our way back to the van?”

“Didn’t you see the navigation spell in the guidebook? We can use that to make it back to the van no matter what.” 

“Then why not use that to get the caverns in the first place?”

“It only works if you know the place you’re trying to get to.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” 

“Quests wouldn’t nearly be as fun if you could just magic you’re way to anything.”

“Is it fun to get lost in the wilderness?”

“I think so.” 

Ian rolled his eyes and looked up at the stars for a while before saying, “Dad would have liked this, wouldn’t he?”

Barley nodded, “Yeah… he would have.” 

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One big ol' quest chapter.

The next morning, Kris was the first one awake. They’d all slept in the van, Ian on the bench and Kris and Barley cuddled up on the floor. Kris kissed Barley’s sleeping face and wriggling out of his arms as gently as she could. She grabbed a pb & j sandwich out of the cooler before slipping out the van. The mornings during a camping trip were always her favorite. She loved the brisk clean air and watching the sun come up over the hills. It was always so peaceful to watch the world come awake. 

She was thankful to be the only one awake at the moment. The homesickness was hitting really hard. Her heart ached to hear her mom walking around a campsite in the still morning air, shuffling around getting breakfast ready. She’d make pancakes and bacon on a camp stove and they’d both have coffee and just sit in silence while she cooked. Kris couldn’t hold tears back as she picked at her now slightly soggy sandwich. She ended up only being able to stomach about half of it. 

By the time Ian and Barley came out of the van, Kris was brushing her teeth. 

“Morning,” she garbled through the toothpaste. 

“Good morning!” Barley said triumphantly. Ian still looked a little bleary eyed. “Are we ready to embark on our noble quest?”

Kris spit into a bush, “Almost, I need to get my pack ready.”

“It’s weird doing this without being stressed out,” Ian said as he stretched. 

“I’m having just as much fun,” Barley replied cheerfully.

Kris packed up her backpack with water, some food and other random necessities. Ian only had his staff and Barley equipped himself with a shield, a sword and some rope and seemed to think that was good enough.  
  
“Wow, you guys really haven’t ever been hiking before,” Kris commented as she forced sunscreen onto Barley’s face. 

“I go exploring all the time!” He protested.

“How many times does it end with you needing medical treatment though?” she rebutted.

His face fell into resignation. 

They consulted the map and a compass before saying goodbye to Guinie 2 for the time being and setting off in the direction they hoped lead to the caverns. Kris soon found that hiking through woods in this dimension was nothing like the pine forests she was used to walking through at home. The woods had an ethereal quality to them and sometimes the trees would get so thick she couldn’t see the sun at all. The sounds were completely different from what she was used to as well. The bird song felt haunting and even the insects buzzing had a sad musical hum to them. Barley and Ian didn’t seem disturbed by the noises at all, but they all would sometimes see things out of the corners of their eyes only to have nothing be there when they turned their heads.  
  
They hiked for what Kris felt like was about two miles before the forest broke and they were able to see the mountains rise up from the foothills they were on. She made Barley and Ian drink some water as they looked over the map again. 

“This is a road map, it’s not very helpful for walking across country…” Ian sighed. 

“Still, we’ve been heading northeast this entire time, we should hopefully see some kind of marker soon…” Barley reasoned. 

Kris stretched, enjoying having the pack off for a minute and looking up at the mountains. It was beautiful here at least. 

“There!” Barley had been scanning the landscape and he now pointed at something far off in the distance. It looked like some kind of stone column to Kris’s eye. She put the pack back on and they headed off towards it. 

As they got closer it was clear that at some point there had been a trail or road of some kind coming up the mountain side. The paving stones were all cracked or sunken and overgrown with moss and grass. Barley got more and more excited the closer they got until he ran the rest of the way to the column. He looked past it, following the ancient trail and pointed enthusiastically up the mountain. 

“Yes! See? We keep following this path and the caverns should be at the end of it!” 

“And then there’s a fearsome beast,” Ian deadpanned. 

“You nailed the invisibility spell, we’ll be fine!” Barley waved the concern away.  
  
Once Kris and Ian caught up to Barley, she could see that the path continued on up the mountain, curving around the slope. It was impossible to tell how long it went on for. She looked down at her sneakered feet with resignation. There would be blisters on her toes and heels but the end of this for sure, but it was small price to pay. Hopefully it would be the worst she’d have to worry about. 

As the trail gained elevation, Kris could look back and see the forest they’d just come through. She experienced a warped sense of deja vu, the familiarity of hiking up a mountain with the otherworldly landscape gave her brain a confusing muddle of conflicting sensations. She shook it off and kept walking. Her legs were shorter than either of the brothers so she naturally lagged behind. She saw Ian disappear around the curve of the mountain and tried to pick up her pace. 

She turned the corner only to bump into Ian’s back. She gave a startled yelp before noticing what had stopped him. The trail had morphed into a giant staircase going up and up with ancient arches decorated with twisting knotting patterns. Barley had started to climb the stairs a bit, but both of them seemed to be a little daunted. 

“Well this is gonna be fun…” Kris winced. Ian made small whining sound and Barley only gave them a determined smile before continuing. 

The stairs were crumbling and sometimes the height of the steps varied just enough to make walking up them disorienting. One side of the stairs hugged the cliff side, while the other dropped off into nothing. Luckily they were wide enough to not make this too uncomfortable, except for a few nerve-wracking places were the stone had been demolished by some kind of force, leaving a gaping hole with only a small sliver of a way forward. Kris was not looking forward to having to come back down. 

“There better not be a giant spider at the end of these stairs,” Kris huffed. 

Barley chuckled and Ian looked confused. 

Finally they could see the top. All of them were short of breath and Kris sat down and drank deeply from one of the water bottles. She could feel the pool of sweat gathering on her back, she going to be so gross after all of this. The top of the stairs had the biggest arch over it, and at the apex of the arch was a snarling stone head of a beast. 

Barley crept up towards the top the stairs and peered over it slightly. Kris was too winded to try tell him that was a bad idea. 

“Oh.” Barley sounded a little disappointed before he stood up completely at the top. “I think the Manticore’s knowledge might be a little outdated.” 

Ian came up behind his brother first and Kris trudged up after that. The entrance to the caverns was massive, a yawning opening in the mountain that was at least 50 feet tall. The fearsome beast was positioned right at the lip of it, or what was left of the beast. The biggest bones Kris had ever seen lay covered in moss and overgrowth. The skull showing off a long gone creature with giant canine teeth. Kris’s first instinct was to take as many pictures as she could so she might recreate what it might have looked like later. 

“Okay this is honestly the best possible outcome,” she said taking out her phone.  
  
“Yeah, I guess…” Barley said crestfallen. 

“Why do you always want the possibility of us dying?” Ian asked. 

“I don’t want that, I just wanted to see what a legendary beast would look like in the flesh.”

“Well it had a collar bone so it could sit up…” Kris said as she walked around inspecting the bones. “It’s radius and ulna looks like it had some space between them… and oh! It has thumbs! This guy honestly looks like it some kind of giant gorilla beast. Yeah! Look at that rib cage! It had a massive gut! The teeth are omnivorous and that jaw is huge…” She continued to gleefully wander around the bones taking pictures as she went. 

“Wait, can you tell what it looked like just from bones?” Barley asked with growing excitement. 

“Not exactly because it’s impossible to know what cartilage or fat deposits it had, but pretty close yeah. Oh! Do you think the Manticore would remember enough to know if it had fur or markings or anything?”  
  
“I dunno, but there are drawings of this thing in Quests of Yore books, just simple sketches and vague interpretations.”

“With those and some anatomy books I could probably make a realistic looking reproduction.” 

“I have the coolest girlfriend…” 

“That is pretty cool,” Ian admitted. 

“See? My fascination with bones isn’t that weird.”

“No, I’m still going to judge you for wanting to keep roadkill,” Ian said flatly.

Kris laughed and walked further down the skeleton taking pictures. She was trying to get every angle she could. There was worse light once she got under the lip of the entrance, however so she turned on her flash. When she took another picture there weren’t just bones in the frame. She froze and stared at her phone and then at the dark shadows in the cave. Something was living in this cavern and they didn’t look like something she wanted to meet. Running seemed like a dumb thing to do, so she opted to back away slowly. 

“Ummm… guys?” she said weakly. She was sliding her feet back to avoid tripping but her foot hit up against a bone with too much momentum and she fell back over it. “Ow!” 

“Hey! You okay?” Barley asked as he rushed over to her to help. As soon as he got to Kris, she clutched at his arm. 

“There are alive things back there,” she hissed. Barley tensed as he helped her back to her feet. 

“What kind of things?” he whispered. 

“I have no idea, but they didn’t look friendly.” 

“What are you guys whispering about?” Ian called after them. Kris went to shush him, but then the shadows started to move. Barley pushed Kris behind him immediately and drew his sword. The shadows came into the light and confirmed what Kris had caught a glimpse of on her phone. Abnormally large canine bodies with weirdly elongated features slinked into view, their scales shimmering in the light. Wolf-like faces with hard reptilian eyes stared back at Barley, Kris and Ian. They moved cautiously, but fluidly, hinting at a grace and agility that would be deadly if put into action. There were five of them. 

“Wolf-dragons…” Barley muttered. 

Kris felt like her brain was going ten thousand miles a minute and yet her body was rooted to the spot. The wolf-dragons weren’t snaring, but they looked like they were on their guard just waiting to be aggressive. Two of them were starting to peel off to one side while the other three went around the other way. They were going to try and surround them. 

The only thing Kris could think of was what you were supposed to do if you encountered a bear in the woods. First strategy was to make noise. 

“Bang your sword against your shield,” Kris directed Barley.

“What?” he hissed back.  
  
“What else are you gonna do? Take on five of them at once?” 

Barley growled and pulled his shield off his back before taking a deep breath and slammed the flat of his sword against it. Kris began to yell along with him, trying to convert her fear into rage. The wolf-dragons were instantly taken aback but they only stopped moving forward. It wasn’t until Ian came up from behind yelling the incantation “Boombastia!” sending a spray of exploding lights straight into the beasts’ faces that they yelped and started to scatter. Bat like wings stretched out of their backs and they scrambled to take flight. One of them lifted off the ground uncomfortable close to Kris and Barley and they barely manageable to avoid being slashed by its whip like tail. 

“Oh ho ho! That was amazing!” Barley cheered as the retreating wolf-dragons became specks in the sky. “Ian! That was great!”

“Kris was the one who thought of scaring them,” Ian said as he leaned against his staff looking shaken.  
  
Kris collapsed up against one of the bones, “Oh boy, that was not fun…” 

“You did great too!” Barley enthused. “How did you know scaring them would work?” 

“I didn’t… my next idea was to curl up into balls and hope they didn’t rip out our organs.”

“Bah! No need for that when we have a skilled mage on our side!” 

“Still, I hope there aren’t more inside the caverns…” Ian shivered. 

“We can handle them!” Barley said with smooth confidence. Kris and Ian shared a look of mutual anxiety. 

Barley helped Kris get back on her feet and they cautiously entered the cavern. Barley found some old torches on the ground and Ian lit them. The torch light helped but the space was too huge to see anything clearly. Kris’s heart was still pounding from the wolf-dragons and she stayed close to Barley, taking a hold of his hand. He gripped hers reassuringly and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. 

The further they got down into the tunnel, the darker and cooler it got. Soon the light of the entrance was a distant shape and Kris was feeling the chill. She’d packed a light sweater, but she hadn’t thought to bring anything substantial against cold. It was impossible to tell what the full tunnel looked like but the torches revealed flashes of wall carvings. Low relief sculptures of ancient people covered the walls. Kris imagined it would be spectacular if they were able to see all of it at once. 

The slope of the tunnel was gradually getter lower and lower and soon they were in total darkness if not for the torches. The air was cold with a distinct mineral kind of smell to it, but it wasn’t stale. Kris figured there must be more than one entrance to keep the air flow. 

Abruptly they found themselves at the end of the tunnel’s long dark corridor as it branched out into six different pathways. Each space between the openings had a tall stone carving of a warrior or wizard standing guard. 

“Now what?” Ian asked skeptically. 

“Hmmm,” Barley walked along the length of the diverging paths, inspecting them. “There are symbols at the top of each of these…” 

“Do you think the Manticore probably had a map or something to help us figure out how to choose?” Kris guessed. 

“Maybe…” Barley sighed with a bit of resignation. “But maybe we can figure it out on our own. Look for clues, try to find the symbols somewhere else.” 

Kris and Ian looked over the path symbols as well and all three of them spread out to search for a clue. Kris figured that if the solution was going to be here, it would be in the wall carvings. She held her torch up to them as high as she could, but she wasn’t very tall. She scanned what she could, keeping her eyes peeled for any of the symbols. She came up on a carving of what looking like a gaping pit filled with spikes and an unlucky traveler falling into it. Nestled in between some of the spikes was a symbol on one of the tunnels. 

“Ah!” she called and pointed. Her voice echoing off the wall. 

“What?” Barley rushed over with Ian close behind. 

“Look, one of the symbols. I’m guessing we don’t want to chose that one.” 

“Good eye!” Barley rubbed the back of her neck affectionately. “The rest have to be on the walls too.” 

They started combing up and down the caverns walls. Kris found one more symbol low on the wall, of a tunnel leading down into what looked like a nest of toothsome worms the size of a person. She grimaced at the rows of spiraling teeth and felt a shiver crawl up her spine. 

Ian found two more, one wreathed in flames and another in some kind of lake. Skeletons lined the bottom of the lake bed and they guessed it was probably made of acid. Barley found one way up high on the wall. It was surrounded by what looked like a swarm of insects. 

“Haha! Now we know which one to take!” he jogged back to the splitting paths and bounced on his feet while he waited for Ian and Kris to catch up. “We’re nailing this quest!” 

“Yeah, we’ve only almost died once,” Ian said casually. 

“How many times did you guys almost die on the last quest?” Kris asked nervously.

“Oh, like… four times,” Barley shrugged.

“Five for me, you didn’t walk across a bottomless pit.”

Kris was beginning to regret coming along. 

They took one of the far right passage ways, the one with the only symbol they hadn’t found on the walls. The way continued to slope downward, but it was steeper now. This tunnel was smaller, so the torchlight was able to reach all the walls but there wasn’t much to see; only carved out earth and stone. The air felt deathly silent after the echoing walls of the wider tunnel. The only sounds were their breathing and foot falls. 

“There better not be another gelatinous cube at the end of this…” Ian shuddered.

“I will be eternally grateful if I never have to see another one of those things again,” Barley concurred. 

Kris bit her lip, she’d be lying if she agreed. A small part of her was still very curious about what made those things move. 

“Don’t tell me you still want to see one, Kris?” Ian seemed wise to her thoughts.

“A bit,” she squeaked.  
  
“Why though?” Barley asked incredulously. “It’s an uncaring mass of goo that will slowly dissolve your flesh and if the overwhelming pain doesn’t release you into unconsciousness before you die, you’ll suffocate in its horrible embrace until finally you’re nothing but bones!”

“Okay! Sure, that’s bad. But what if you could trap one and study it?” 

“What is there to study?” 

“If you take a bit of cube and put it somewhere, is that a new cube? Is it a colony or is it one big organism? Is it even alive? How does it move? That’s my big question! How. Does. It. Move?”

Barley snorted in confused amusement and pulled her in for a side hug.

They rounded a corner and an eerie blue light appeared further down the passage way. As they followed the path it suddenly opened up into a large cavernous room filled with hundreds of pale glowing mushrooms and ground was covered in strange blue moss. An under ground river cut through the room and lead off into the distance, the direction of the water seemed to be the only way forward. As they walked into the room their feet kicked up little motes of dust and debris. 

“It’s beautiful…” Kris said softly. She wanted to poke one of the mushrooms, but that seemed like a stupid thing to do. Barley seemed wary of them as well and guided Ian and Kris away from the walls and closer to the river. 

“I remember these things from one of my campaigns,” he whispered. “They shoot up spores to sound and they make you sneeze, which makes more spores… Cover your faces.” 

Kris had a bandanna in her pack she gave to Barley and used her sweater for her own face. Ian took off his over shirt and used that. 

“We should stay as close to the river as we can,” Barley instructed quietly. 

They walked in a single file along the river’s edge, Ian in front and Barley last. Fairly soon into following the river, Kris’s eyes started to feel itchy. She was now certain that the little motes of dust they were kicking up were spores. She saw Ian starting to rub his eyes and she reached up and caught his hand. She gestured that he shouldn’t touch his face when he looked back at her in confusion. Barley patted her shoulder appreciatively and they continued walking.  
  
Even with the face covering, it was getting harder and harder to breathe the farther they walked. Kris had to keep suppressing the urge to sneeze and she was certain the brothers were doing the same. The only sound was the rushing water, they’re careful foot steps, and an occasional grunt or sniff. The water probably meant there was a constant low level outpouring of spores into the air. Tears started pouring down her face the longer they walked.  
  
The worst part was that the cavern was narrowing the farther they went, the mushrooms getting closer and closer to the water. The river itself wasn’t that big or deep, it was more of a stream than a full river. If it had been Kris would have been tempted to jump in just to avoid the spores. Ian stopped and Kris could see the cavern ceiling start to dip down dramatically. She looked past him and saw that the cave converged into a single small opening, overgrown with mushrooms, the air visibly thick with spores. The stream took up all of the ground area and disappeared into the darkness. If it was dark back there it meant there weren’t anymore mushrooms. The cavern walls made it clear that this was the only way forward. 

Kris’s eyes were now stinging so badly she could barley see. How were they going to make it past that last stretch? She could at least tell that the mushrooms reached back a part of the ways down the tunnel before tapering off. Maybe it was best if they turned around, came back another day better equipped. 

Barley reached up and squeezed her shoulder. She looked back at him and saw that his eyes were also streaming tears, but his expression was hard and determined. He gestured for her to hand him her torch. She gave it to him, but cocked her head questioningly. He ignored her and tapped Ian on the shoulder, asking for his torch as well. He then stepped in front of both of them and looking back motioned for them to hold hands in a chain. He pantomimed closing his eyes and holding his breathe before pointing at both of them. He was going to have them make a mad dash past the mushrooms, but was he going to close his eyes too? Kris felt a lump of concern start to grow in her throat, but before she could pull him back he took in a deep breathe signaling his intent. Barley had Ian’s hand who in turn had Kris’s and before she could stop them she was pulled along. She hastily took a breath and closed her eyes as she started to run behind them. 

She nearly tripped and fell when her feet hit the water, but managed to keep her balance. The stream was harder to run through, but the water wasn’t that deep, only coming up to above her ankles. She didn’t know how much further they had to go but her lungs were starting to burn from lack of oxygen. It felt like an eternity before Ian’s hand relaxed and pulled away from her. 

Kris opened her eyes and took a deep breath at the same time, all of her exposed skin felt like it was on fire. She coughed and spluttered and through her watering eyes she could see Ian hunched over next to her doing the same, but Barley had fallen to the ground. There was a narrow lip of dry land at the edge of the tunnel and he had collapsed on all fours facing into it. She heard him wheeze and cough before slumping down and rolling onto his back. The skin around his eyes was visibly reddening and puffing up. 

Scrambling to get her pack open, Kris went to Barley’s side immediately. She pulled out a water bottle and pried open one of his eyes and poured the water directly on it. He bucked involuntarily before settling down into a pained tolerance. She did the same to the other eye, pouring out the entire bottle. The whites of his eyes were severely blood shot. _You brave idiot_ , Kris thought. She looked over at Ian who was coming out of a coughing fit. His hands began to raise to touch his face, but Kris barked at him to stop.

“Ah! Don’t touch your face! Put it in the water!” her throat cracked as she spoke, talking hurt like hell. 

Ian instantly sank down into the stream, pulling the shirt off his face, and submerged his whole head. Kris followed suit, bending over the lip of the stream. She made sure to open her eyes even though the sensation was incredibly uncomfortable. Bringing her face up, the skin felt noticeably better, but breathing was still difficult. It felt like the asthma attacks she used to get when she was a kid. She wondered if she still had an inhaler in her backpack. 

Next she grabbed the empty water bottle and filled it up in the stream before taking off Barley’s bandanna and pouring it all over his face. He jerked again, but weakly this time. His eyes were swelling shut and his breath was just as raspy as hers. Ian crawled out of the stream, pushing his hair out of his face as water poured off of him. Kris could tell his eyes were a little puffy too, but not nearly as bad as Barley. 

“Is he okay?” he asked Kris in a croaky voice. 

She could only shrug weakly and shake her head, she honestly didn’t know. Before she let herself fall apart though, she remembered she might have an inhaler in her pack. Her mom was asthmatic and very paranoid about Kris getting asthma attacks as well even though she hadn’t had one since she was ten. None the less, her mother had made her keep an inhaler just in case. She frantically searched through the side pockets, sorting through the random bits like chap stick and pens before thankfully uncovering an old inhaler. She shook it, it sounded like it still had some left. She exhaled and gave herself a few puffs, hoping it would help ease the tension in her lungs. She took a few experimental breaths and gave a small sigh of relief as her air passages opened up. 

Kris propped Barley’s head up in her lap and asked if he was still conscious, he gave a small nod. 

“Okay, I have an inhaler that’ll help make it easier to breathe. Can you use it yourself?”

His hand flopped up weakly, but he was able to take the inhaler from her. 

“Exhale all the air from your lungs and then as you inhale, press down on the inhaler, okay?” 

He did so and coughed afterward. Kris passed it to Ian next who took it gratefully.  
  
Next she pulled out another water bottle and took a few swigs before bringing it down to Barley’s lips to drink. The water helped clear away the spores stuck in her throat and combined with the inhaler, she was starting to feel a lot better. Physically at least. Looking down at Barley’s puffy face filled her with intense worry and something else… anger.  
  
“Why did you do that, you big stupid blue _asshole_!” she clutched his face in her hands brought her forehead down to touch his. 

“We had to get through some how…” he rasped weakly. It was a relief to hear him talk but her anger didn’t abate. 

“We could have gone back, we could have stopped and gone back!”

“But then… you would have to wait longer…” 

Kris hated and loved this man at the same time. “It’s not worth it if you die, you hear me? If getting back to my family means you dying I don’t want to do it! I need you!” she could feel more tears come up but this time they weren’t from the spores. 

“I’m not gonna die…” Barley huffed. “I might go blind though.” 

A harsh laugh escaped her lips and she kissed him. He kissed back which was another good sign. She held her face against his for a moment, running her fingers through his wet hair and enjoying the sound of his breathing becoming more steady. When she sat up, his face still looked like a mess but at least he was smiling a bit. She looked up and Ian was slumped up against the wall of the cave drinking from one of her water bottles. 

She sniffed and realized her feet and part of her front was sopping wet in freezing cold mountain water and Barley’s legs were still in the stream.

“You should get out of the water, can you move?” she asked him. He nodded and sat up easily. Now that he could breath all that seemed to be wrong was that his eyes were swollen shut. 

“You okay, Ian?” He asked as he moved away from the water.

“Yeah, I’m fine… Kris’s inhaler helped.”

Barley’s face relaxed hearing his brother’s voice and he nodded.

“Now what?” Ian asked. 

“Now we all take off our shoes and socks and warm up our feet so we don’t get frostbite,” replied Kris. 

“We’ll be fine, it’s not that cold,” Barley scoffed. 

“Nuh-uh, I don’t care, I’m not taking chances. Besides wet socks while hiking is bad news. We have to put on dry socks and try to dry out our shoes anyway.” 

“Where are we going to get dry socks?” Ian scoffed.

“I brought some in my pack.”

“Man, you did come prepared…”

“Imma Girl Scout, bitches!” Kris said lamely. “Now shoes and socks off.” She peeled off her own and touching her feet they were already numb and ice cold to the touch. Luckily the torches hadn’t gone in the water and had stayed lit on the ground where Barley had dropped them. She got Ian to position them so they both could put their feet up to the flames. There wasn’t enough space for all of them to sit around the torches, so she had Barley sit slightly opposite her and place his feet on her belly. Body heat was just as good as fire in warding off frost bite in a pinch. 

“This feels super weird,” Barley said wriggling his toes a bit. “How is your stomach so warm?”

“Female bodies have more blood vessels in our abdomen than male bodies, in case babies happen. At least in humans, I assume it’s the same for elves.” She sniffed and rubbed his feet with her hands. 

“I don’t know if I needed to know that fact,” Ian’s face contorted in mild disgust as he massaged his own feet. 

“Biology seems to wig you out in general,” Kris commented.

“I like math and chess, nothing disgusting happens in math or chess.”  
  
“Oh yeah, what happens if you hike with wet socks?” Barley asked. 

“Your skin absorbs the water and the cell membranes get weaker and tear apart so your skin sluffs off.”

“Aaack! Gross! Yeah, I’m glad we’re avoiding that…” Ian stared at his toes in imagined horror and shook his head. 

“How are your eyes?” Kris asked Barley. She could see that they were weeping a bit and still swollen. 

“Can’t see a damn thing,” Barley said nonchalantly, “but they don’t feel like they’re on fire anymore.”

“Good,” Kris nodded. She hoped given some time the swelling would go down and he’d regain some sight. 

“I can try a healing spell on them,” Ian brightened. 

“You can try, but that spell is normally for cuts and stuff,” Barley replied. 

“Is there a way to magically dry our shoes too?” Kris did not want to have to stick her feet back into soggy sneakers. 

“A wind spell might work,” Barley theorized. 

The healing spell didn’t seem to do anything, but the wind spell did get their shoes dry. Ian also used it on his own socks because Barley’s spare socks were huge on his more slender feet. Kris rinsed out the bandanna and used it to wipe down the rest of their exposed skin to clean away any lingering spores.

Even though Barley still couldn’t see they reasoned that it was still a good idea to keep moving. Ian took the lead this time with Kris guiding Barley by putting his hands on her shoulders. They followed the narrow strip of land down further into the mountain, moving slower than before. The tunnel widened after a bit along with the pathway, making it easier for Kris to keep Barley from slipping into the stream. The downward trajectory continued as they walked. These parts of the tunnels looked more natural, resembling a lime stone cave rather than something dug out of the earth. Kris caught glints of reflected light shining off the walls every once in a while as their torches passed. 

It was getting much colder and combined with being still slightly damp and the stream next to them, Kris was shivering. Barley rubbed at her shoulders and arms a bit as they walked. The deeper they got the louder the rushing water sound became and soon their tunnel opened up more as other branching river tunnels converged into one. Luckily, or more likely by design, their path stayed on the left side of the growing river. Now that the walls had opened back up there were rows of dripping stalactites hanging from the ceiling with their corresponding stalagmites on the cave floor. Kris shuffled awkwardly around them, trying to keep Barley from tripping. 

Kris had expected this cave to be in complete and utter darkness but there was a low ambient light coming from some where. The answer came along as they got further down the river. The rushing water soon becoming a deafening roar as it plummeted down into a huge waterfall. The cave hung over it by a good thirty feet or so, but then opened up into the world outside. Daylight leaked up into the caves, reflected off the water. Kris could see a group of bats, tucked away sleeping in a crook of the overhang. She wanted to point them out, but the water was so loud and Ian probably wouldn’t care anyway. 

The obvious way forward had ceased at the apex of the waterfall. Kris and Ian looked around for where they should move next. 

“What’s happening?” Barley spoke in her ear so that she could hear him over the din. Kris leaned back to talk into his. 

“There’s a giant waterfall and not a clear path forward, we’re looking around.” 

He nodded and kissed her neck. His eyes were still swollen and weeping, but now there were crusty bits forming around the lids. Kris decided it was a good idea to take out the first aide kit and wipe down his eyes with some cotton or something. Before she could take off her pack though, Ian shouted. She looked up and he was pointing to a part of the cave wall that was obscured by a large grouping of stalactites and stalagmites. Behind them she could make out what looked like a staircase with a doorway at the top. 

Ian made for the staircase immediately and Kris had to follow. Negotiating the cave floor with Barley was a little tricky though, especially because the dripping water meant it was a little bit slippery. They made it to the stairs eventually and Kris relayed that they were going to go up them. Ian was already at the top. As they climbed the roar of the water got a little less intense. 

“How are you doing, Barley?” Ian asked. 

“Still blind,” Barley shrugged. 

“How do your eyes feel?” Kris questioned.

“They don’t hurt, but they’re kinda tight now?” 

“I want to wipe them off for you,” She said, starting to take the pack off. 

“Hey, it’s quieter in here!” Ian called. He’d gone through the doorway a ways and motioned for Kris to follow. There was a short hall way and then it opened up into a large low ceiling room. This wasn’t a naturally made cave, this was a constructed square space with big stone tiles lining the floor. The walls had rows of low relief columns along them, they looked purely decorative. The ceiling seemed oddly flat after the hours of domed tunnels they’d walked through. There were patterns carved into it, between large plain tiles that were spaced widely apart. The room itself was completely empty. The tiles looked too big to be trap triggers and like the ceiling tiles they didn’t have any markings. The worst part was that this seemed to be a dead end, there was no doorway through. 

“Welp, we seemed to have come all this way for an empty room.” Kris said flatly. 

Barley grunted and she was sure he was making a face, “That can’t be it, it has to be some kind of puzzle.” 

“I don’t know what there is to puzzle out…” Ian sighed walking along the edge of the room. “There’s just some gross gunk on the walls…” 

Kris walked them further into the room before finally being able to take her pack off and take a look at Barley’s face. “We’ll figure it out, but first I want to clean Barley’s eyes.” 

She took out the first aide and got some cotton balls. She wet them a bit with water before having Barley sit down so she could work. 

“Does it hurt when I put pressure on them?” She asked, pushing the cotton ball a little firmly against his swollen eyelid. 

“No,” he shook head a tiny bit. “It kinda feels good.” 

“Okay, good…” she began wiping his eye in one outward direction. A viscus fluid started seeping out between his eyelids. “Oh that’s nasty,” she grimaced. “Does it hurt?”

“No, it feels really good,” he sighed. 

The first cotton ball got coated pretty quickly and Kris just threw it off to the side. She ended up needing three for each eye, but when she was done they looked significantly better. The swelling had gone down as soon as she’d cleared away the fluid. They were still puffy, but not grotesque looking. 

“Can you open your eyes?” She asked hopefully. 

Barley attempted to, but he could only open them to slits and it looked painful for him. “It hurts if I try,” he winced. “But the pressure is gone, they feel a lot better.” 

“That’s something I guess…” 

Barley smiled and she kissed him. 

“I’m really glad you’re here,” Ian said as he came up next to Kris. “I wouldn’t have wanted to do that… or thought to do that…” He looked down in disgust at the used up cotton balls. 

“Yeah, I probably would have actually gone blind if it was just Ian and me.” Barley chuckled. 

“I would have panicked and just splashed water on you.” 

“I would’ve had us keep walking with wet cold feet.” 

Kris didn’t know what to say to that. She shrugged sheepishly and put away the first aide. Barley stood up and reached out his hands before finding her and wrapping her in a hug. 

“Hey, you really are amazing. Give yourself some credit,” he said softly in her ear. 

“I know…” she did know she was smart and resourceful, but admitting these things felt arrogant. 

He kissed her cheek and relaxed his hug, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “Let’s figure out this puzzle. Tell me what’s in the room… it is a room, right?” 

“Yeah,” Kris nodded, shouldering her pack back on and making sure Barley’s hands were on her shoulders again. “There really isn’t anything in here though…” 

“The columns just have the same pattern on all of them, no symbols or anything,” Ian said. 

“There has to be something,” Barley harrumphed. “Is there a button or a hidden lever or- Ow! Careful where you’re leading me!” 

Kris had been slowly walking forward into the room, pulling Barley along. She looked up as him in confusion. “There isn’t anything around us.” 

“Yes there is! I just smacked my head into it… it really hurt.” 

“Barley, there’s nothing there,” Ian confirmed.   
  
“There is!” His hands went up close to his face and his fingers seemed to mime around a shape that wasn’t there. “Right here! See? It’s like a… I dunno, hanging wall thing… You’re short, Kris so you probably didn’t look up enough to see it.”

“No…?” she narrowed her eyes as Barley’s hands came away from the empty air in front of him.  
  
“What do you mean no? It’s right in front of me.”

“Wait…” Ian walked over to his brother and reached up to the spot right before Barley’s face. As his fingers got close, he jerked back for a second before putting them back up, seemingly pressing up against nothing. “Whoa… there is something here!” 

“Can you guys not see it?” Barley asked. 

“No,” Ian and Kris answered in unison. Ian continued to map it out with his fingers, “Whatever it is, it’s stuck to the ceiling really well. And…” he quested around a bit more, following a shape none of them could see. “It’s got a little slot or something, there’s a dip and it feels like something round is supposed to go in there…”   
  
“Invisible puzzle…” Barley said with hushed excitement. 

“There has to be more things we can’t see,” Kris reasoned.

“Let’s find some!” Barley grinned widely, turned and started walking around with his arms out stretched. 

“Hey, I don’t want you to hurt yourself more!” Kris protested.

“If I can’t see and you guys can’t see, we have the same odds of finding something and I’m the tallest so that means- OW! Shit! See?” Barley was moving a lot faster than Kris had been guiding him and he smacked into another invisible structure. 

“I see you hurting yourself more…” Kris murmured. 

Trying to stop Barley when he was excited was next to impossible, so he ended up bumping his head into three more structures. Ian found two more before they realized that each invisible hanging corresponded with the ceiling tiles. There were ten tiles in all, four along either side of the length of the room and two in between those rows on either end. Kris wandered into the middle of the room and nearly fell over tripping on another unseen feature. She was able to keep her balance by gripping onto the thing itself. It was very sturdy, she felt it out with her hands and it seemed to be some kind of podium. Once she mapped out the edges, she edged her fingers towards the middle of it. She was a bit nervous of a trap or something that would hurt her. Instead there was a dip in the center, like a bowl and inside she felt little spheres that fit in her palm perfectly. 

“Hey, the center has a podium with balls in it! I bet they’re supposed to go in the slots!”  
  
“Yes! I told you there had to be something!” Barley pumped his fists. 

Ian started putting spheres into slots as Kris handed them to him. There were ten spheres to match the ten slots, but once Ian put the last sphere into place, nothing happened. 

“Huh…” His nose wrinkled up in confusion as absolutely nothing about the room changed. 

“Well that was anti-climatic…” Kris frowned. 

“What?” Barley asked.

“Nothing happened at all.” 

“We’re missing something then,” he asserted. 

“Something else we can’t see?” Ian suggested with frustration in his tone. 

“Like a lever or something to active… something else… I dunno,” Barley chewed on his finger nails. 

Kris was completely stumped. There were ten slots and ten balls, they had put them all together. What else could there be?

Ian started combing the edges of the room up and down and then back and forth through the whole space, but nothing. There wasn’t anything else, at least at ground level to experiment with. “Ugh! There’s nothing!” he said with mounting annoyance. He slumped against the wall but flinched back immediately. “Augh! I forgot about the wall gunk!” He brushed off his arm with disdain as bits of flaky debris flew off of it. His eye caught on something as he finished. “Hey wait…”

“What?” Barley perked up instantly. 

“There’s something underneath…” Ian hesitated at first but then sighed and used his hand to wipe at the crusty brown decay. “It’s… a mirror!” he started to smile and scrubbed more vigorously. Chunks started to come off the wall revealing a smooth reflective surface. 

“Excellent!” Barley exclaimed. 

Kris went to help, pulling at the big chunks of dried dirt and debris. Something had coated the walls in mud long ago, she hoped that something wasn’t around any more. Finally they manages to uncover just a enough with their hands to see that the invisible structures were very much visible in the mirror’s reflection. The wall hangings were stone lanterns affixed to the ceiling, each lantern had a colored crystal inside of it and below that were the compartments that had the slots for the spheres. All the lanterns they could see were dim expect for one, which shone brightly in the mirror’s surface. 

“The spheres must have a corresponding color to go with the crystals,” Ian’s smile broadened as he figured out the puzzle. “That’s why it didn’t work earlier.” 

“I’ll keep uncovering the mirror, you start to put the spheres in the right spots,” Kris instructed. He nodded and went to work. 

“I want to help!” Barley walked forward hesitantly. Kris assumed he’d finally gotten tired of hitting his head on the lanterns. She guided him over to the mirror and told him to push away the debris towards the top of the mirror where she couldn’t reach. With their combined efforts they were soon able to move all of the spheres to their correct places, lighting each of the lanterns in turn. Ian put the last sphere into the last slot and a rumbling sound erupted from the middle of the room. One of the tiles next to the podium was moving, retracting into the podium itself. 

“Oh thank Chantar’s Talon…” Ian exhaled with relief. 

Kris walked over to the retreating floor tile, “There’s stairs!” 

“Ha! Perfect! Hopefully we’re getting close to the caverns.” Barley grinned. “Although, I’m really tired of not being able to see anything…” he started to rub at his eyes with the back of his hand. His fingers were covered in dirt and grit. 

“I don’t think that’s a good thing to do!” Kris winced as she watched him. 

“Nah, it doesn’t hurt or anything,” he shook his head out and tried to blink, opening his eyes up for the first time in hours. He widened them and blinked more, looking unsure. Kris could see that they were still blood shot and there was a slight film covering his irises. 

“Can you see anything?” she asked cautiously. 

“Everything is fuzzy…” he muttered. 

“Can you see this?” Ian waved his hand. 

“I can tell you’re waving, but not very well. It’s all just fuzzy shapes and blobs.” He looked over at the mirror, “Oh! Ow! That light hurts…” 

“That makes sense since you’ve had your eyes closed this whole time in a dark cave,” Kris pointed out. “But you can see colors?”

“Yeah…” he shied away from the mirror and looked down at Kris. “You look like a pink blob…” 

“Hey, if I take off my glasses, you look like a blue blob.” 

“Is this what it’s like for you to not wear glasses?” Barley looked uneasy. 

“Yeah, pretty much. It sounds like your eyes are a bit worse than mine at the moment.” 

“Yikes, I do not envy you…” 

“Eh, I’ve had to wear them since I was six. Literally can’t remember a point where it wasn’t normal for me. Hopefully your eyes clear up though. Otherwise we’re going to a hospital after this quest.” 

“That seems normal for us,” Ian shrugged. 

Barley couldn’t see well enough to get down the stairs without help so Kris guided him again. This time leading him by the hand and telling him what the steps were like. After a bit, he got into his own rhythm and was able to do it by himself. The staircase was a spiraling one, twisting down into the darkness with solid brick walls encasing it. Up until this point the air had been rather fresh, most likely thanks to the network of underground rivers, but this passageway was musty. Centuries of dust and grime had collected on the steps and cobwebs were everywhere. 

“Plech! Eck! Augh! I got one straight on my face!” Barley gagged and slapped at his head. 

“I think that’s going to keep happening since you can’t really see anything,” Ian snickered. 

“You could always be a caring brother and clear them away,” Kris intoned. 

“Nah, it’s funnier this way.” 

“I think I will have Barley pick up that unicorn we found on the road…” 

“Okay! Okay! Don’t do that!” 

Now as they descended Ian swept the cobwebs away with his staff. 

“Uck, my staff is going to be covered in this stuff by the time we reach the bottom…”

“The world’s largest and grossest cotton candy,” Kris quipped. 

“Uhhuh huhh, no thank you,” Ian shuddered.

“How much money would you pay me to take a bite?” Barley offered.

“I’d pay you money not to take a bite,” Kris answered.  
  
“You’re no fun…”

“Are you forgetting I regularly have your mouth on mine? And on other parts of me?” 

“EW! LA LA LA! That’s way worse than eating cobwebs! Please stop talking!” Ian shouted. 

“What? I wasn’t even specific. I could say I don’t want dusty old spider jizz all up in my-”

“NOOOOPPE! STOP!”

Kris cackled. 

“It’s moments like these that really highlight the fact that you are an older sibling,” Barley commented. 

“The instinct kicks in as soon as your parents come home from the hospital and it never leaves,” Kris agreed. 

The climb down felt like it took forever. Kris was starting to feel a little woozy from going round and round in a circle for so long. She checked back with Barley and he’d decided it was less disorienting to keep his eyes shut while going down. The blurry movements of the torchlight combined with Kris and Ian had made him feel a little sick to his stomach too. 

Eventually the cobwebs collected on Ian’s staff were too thick and he resorted to burning them with the torch. 

“I should have been doing this to begin with,” Ian scolded himself. “I don’t know how I’m going to clean off all this gunk off the staff…” 

“You can burn it off,” Barley supplied.

“Won’t that just burn the staff?”

“Wizards’ staffs can’t burn by normal fire.” 

“That’s handy,” Kris said with mild approval. 

“What’s abnormal fire though?” 

“Phoenix flame, enchanted flame, that kind of thing…” 

Ian nodded in acknowledgment. 

The conversation fell into another lull and Kris was starting to get very tired of walking down stairs. Every once in a while her foot would crunch on something she was sure were mouse or rat bones. It always made her feel bad. 

“I see a floor!” Ian announced excitedly and picked up his pace downward.

“Oh thank god!” Kris groaned. 

“I’ve been trying really hard not to puke this whole time…” Barley mumbled. 

Kris wanted to give him a hug, but she wanted to not be on stairs even more. 

They all got to the bottom and Ian was already inspecting the doorway that lead out. Unfortunately the way was completely shut but a large slab of stone. 

“There is a button,” Ian motioned to it. “But I don’t know if pressing it is a good idea…”

“You _have_ learned somethings from me!” Barley said in a happy but weary tone. They all seemed to be feeling the affects of the day. They’d been walking for hours and hours, not to mention the mushroom spores and now distant terror of the wolf-dragons. All of them were tired, sore, covered in grime, and hungry.  
  
“While we figure out a button, I think we need a snack break.” Kris proposed.

“Yes please,” Ian agreed.

“Oof, I dunno if I can handle food right now…” Barley burped slightly. 

As soon as Kris peeled open a Wild Boar Stix though, he took it gladly. Kris relished eating an apple while the brothers shared assorted junk food. She stole an occasional chip or bite of jerky. After eating the collective mood picked up a bit and they began to get a second wind, or was it a third wind by this point?

“Is there anything else in this space that looks like it’s a better option than the button?” Barley asked as he sat munching on some cheese puffs. 

“Not really,” Ian scanned around the room. As far as Kris could tell there wasn’t anything else down here but more cobwebs, bones and dirt. 

“Okay…” Barley sighed and made a fist and pounded it down on the button.  
  
“So much for the obvious path being the wrong one…” Ian mused.

“I’m so tired, man…” 

Thankfully, the button seemed to be the right choice. The stone slab jerked into motion a few moments later, slowly rising upwards. Kris put away all the random garbage back in her pack except the apple core. She left that on the ground. 

“Please be the caverns, please be the caverns,” She chanted softly as the door continued to rise as an excruciatingly slow pace.

“What if we did all this and it wasn’t even the right place?” Ian chuckled darkly.

“I would cry,” Kris said flatly. 

“We’d be fine,” Barley waved off the sentiment but there was an edge of dread in his voice.  
  
Finally the door rose enough for them to crouch under it. Ian went first, then Barley and Kris. 

The cavern was more beautiful than Kris could ever imagine. Hundreds if not thousands of gemstones sparkled and winked in the torchlight. Sections of them glowed on their own, sending off waves of light that played off of other stones. The whole room was a kaleidescope of colors and gently twinkling lights. The only way Kris could vaguely describe it would be a Christmas light display but on steroids and so so much more magical. 

“Holy fuck… we did it…” she breathed. 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! They got to the goal of their quest! Certainly nothing will predictably go wrong.

“I hate that I can barely see this…” Barley grumbled. 

“Oh, you bet I’m taking pictures, babe.” Kris pulled out her phone and started doing just that.

Ian had been completely speechless once they’d made it inside but he blinked and pulled out his phone too. “It would be better if we had more light,” he said. 

“Light beam spell would be good,” Barley advised. 

“Right! Oh, my staff is gross, hold on.” Ian proceeded to cleanse it with the torch fire. 

Barley stepped up behind Kris and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tightly. Kris relished in the feeling, putting her hand up to his face. “This all might be worth it, just for this…” she hummed, loving how warm Barley was and how beautiful the cavern looked. 

“It’ll be worth it in the long term too,” Barley said before kissing her neck over and over. 

She giggled softly and decided she’d like to take a picture of them together. She flipped her camera and was treated to her absolute disaster of a face. Her hair was full of fly aways and covered in cobwebs, dirt and random grime was smeared all over her skin, and the spores had left a distinct redness of irritation around the top half of her face. Barley looked just as bad if not worse given his eyes, but she was used to that. 

“Good lord…” she muttered. 

“Hmm?” Barley looked up slightly. His eyes still had the faint film over them.  
  
“I just hadn’t seen what I looked like until now, we look awful.” 

“You’re always beautiful,” he said smoothly and went back to kissing her. 

“Says the man who can’t see shit right now.” 

“Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”  
  
She snorted and took a picture anyway, they looked a mess, but at least they were happy.

“You guys done being cutesy?” Ian asked derisively. 

“No.” Kris said decisively and tilted her face over to Barley’s. He kissed her mouth immediately and Kris experienced a heady moment of pure joy and satisfaction. She couldn’t help letting out a sigh of pleasure. When they pulled away from each other, Kris looked over at Ian and he had a blank expression that signified he’d like to have his soul leave his body. 

“Okay now we’re done,” she said contentedly. 

Ian’s nostrils flared and he shook himself off. “Please don’t do that again until I’m out of ear shot,” he pleaded.  
  
“I’m not making any promises,” Barley squeezed Kris one more time before letting her go. 

Ian made a face at his brother and then prepared to do the spell by taking a deep breath. “Luxia Extrodanaria!” 

The cavern came to life at a beam of white light shot out of Ian’s staff. Kris had to shut her eyes for a second since they weren’t used to this much light anymore. She hadn’t been able to tell when it was just torch light, but the room was vast and went up and up into the mountain. The gem stones got more sparse higher on the walls, but it was still magnificent. She held up her phone and started to take a video. 

“This is so fucking cool,” she giggled. 

“You’re taking pictures right? I’m eyes hurt too much to try to look,” Barley sounded very disappointed. 

“I’m taking a video.”

“Oh good!”

“Say hi Ian!” she pointed her camera at him. 

“I’m still grossed out by you!”

Kris laughed and moved over to Barley who had his eyes shut and defeated look on his face. 

“Poor Barley…” she muttered and panned the camera back up into the sea of dazzling lights. 

After Ian played with the light beam spell and set off a few magical fireworks for fun, they began looking for the gem they needed. 

“What were they called again?” Kris asked. 

“Spectral Sapphires,” Barley replied instantly. 

“So like… ghost stones?” she didn’t know how that would help them open a dimensional portal. 

“No, I think it’s more in the light spectrum kinda sense.”

“Oh, okay… So like how does it work? Do we need to keep coming back here to get more stones once we run out?”

“Phoenix Gems are the only assist gems that dissipate once you use them. That’s what makes them so rare and powerful. Other gems only channel certain energy, but a few, like these sapphires can hold energy for an extra boost. They loose it once you do a spell but over time they pull magical energy back in and you can use them again. Spectral Sapphires are some of the most stable gems you can use and I figure the extra energy and the stability will make a good solid portal.”

Kris was always impressed with how easily Barley knew just about everything there was to know about his world’s history and magic, but it felt especially heart warming that he’d put so much thought into something that meant so much to her.

“I think I found some!” Ian called them over. 

They walked over to him and he pointed to the spot of the wall where a cluster of blue gemstones glowed with an ethereal multi-colored light. Barley went up close and squinted at them, practically touching them with his face. _He really can’t see much of anything_ , Kris thought with worry. If he stayed this bad they’d definitely be going to a hospital. She prayed he didn’t have any lasting damage. 

“Yeah! These look right!” He said cheerfully. 

“Awesome!…” Kris paused. “How are we gonna get them off?”

“I came prepared,” Barley said proudly and he pulled a chisel out of one of his cargo pockets. 

Kris and Ian didn’t think Barley could see well enough to chisel off the stones, so they each tried to use it first. Neither of them had the strength to break through the rock however. They ended having to position the chisel for Barley and line up his hands before he could hammer down with the butt of his sword. Kris found it a little nerve wracking to watch, but he got a stone to pop off the wall fairly quickly. Ian picked it up first, inspecting it closely. 

“It’s pretty heavy,” he evaluated, tossing it slightly in his palm. It was a good size, roughly the same as Ian’s fist. Kris was fascinated by the light flickering inside the gem, it waved and shifted through different hues like a little magic rainbow fire. Ian handed it to her and it pulled down on her hand more than she expected. It was heavy, like a solid chunk of iron. 

“How many should we get?” she asked. 

“As many as we can carry I’d think,” Barley surmised. 

Barley continued to chisel stones off and Ian put them in Kris’s pack. They rattled and clinked together and after Ian put five in, Kris could feel the weight becoming a little uncomfortable. 

“I don’t think I can carry too many of these,” she gritted her teeth thinking about how they’d probably swing as she walked and hit her back. 

“I can take your pack,” Barley offered. 

“I’ll have to loosen the straps then.”

Three more gems went into the pack and now Kris was uncomfortable. “Okay, I think I have to take this off now.” She shrugged it off at it plopped heavily onto the ground. Ian added two more. 

“This seems like a lot,” she mused.

“It’ll give us more room to experiment, get you home faster.” Barley concluded. Kris felt the familiar warmth of love in her chest. She smiled and stretched out her sore back, leaning backwards and glancing up the walls of the cavern. Unfortunately, something was moving up there. 

“Shit!” she exclaimed. It suddenly became very clear why there had been so many cobwebs in the staircase coming down. Giant spiders were silently creeping closer and closer. 

“What?” Both of the brothers looked around, but only Ian was able to follow her gaze. 

“We gotta go,” he said and grabbed his staff. 

“What? What’s happening?” Barley was left clueless. 

“Big! Big bugs!” Kris stammered. “Spiders!” She lifted up her pack but it was very heavy and awkward to manage with all the gem stones inside. 

Barley dropped the chisel, grabbed the torch stuck in the earth next to him and stood with his sword ready. Ian grabbed his arm and they ran from the walls, closer to the door they’d come in through. 

“How do we get out of here?!” Kris panted frantically.  
  
“There’s another door over there!” Ian pointed. About fifty feet away there was another doorway nestled into the cavern walls. It was identical to the first door, right down to it being completely shut with a stone slab. Kris got a sinking feeling in her gut. 

“That stupid button probably lifts one door and shuts the other,” she groaned. 

The spiders were almost down from the walls, they weren’t moving very fast, but fast enough to be worrisome. 

“I’ll get it,” Ian sprinted to the first door and reached inside. The doors began to shudder to life but Ian yelped and jumped back as another spider crawled upside down out of the top of the door. Kris made an involuntary whine in her throat and tried to shoulder her pack and pull Barley with her as she ran to the exiting door. She felt a couple stones fall out before Ian caught up and took Barley so she could focus on the pack.

“How many are there?” Barley’s voice cracked as they made it over to the exit. The stone slab was moving just as slowly as it had before, Kris thought it might even be slower. 

“A lot!” She gulped. More spiders had shown up since she’d first noticed them. They were everywhere now, slowly creeping down the walls. The first ones had reached the ground and were scuttling after them, Kris could now here horrible hissing spitting noises. 

“Oursss! Oursss! Do not take! Oursss!” 

“Oh fuck they talk,” Kris hated spiders, anything with more than four legs gave her the heeby jeebies. Seeing giant dog sized arachnids barreling towards her was enough to keep her nightmares fed for decades. 

“Aloft Elevar!” Ian had caught a spider that had made it too close to the door and he flung it away with a wave of his staff. He had to do it again and again, as more of the nasty things closed in. Barley pulled Kris behind him and stood protectively in front of her. She didn’t know how much he could do though. They were a sitting ducks. 

“There’s too many of them, I can’t keep doing this,” Ian panted as he flung another spider. 

Kris’s eyes had been darting frantically between the door and the encroaching spiders. As soon as the gap looked big enough she tugged at Barley, “I think we can get past now!” 

Kris went under first, then Barley, Ian tried to clear away as many spiders as he could before ducking down, but one got through and tried to grip at his leg. He shouted in pain and revulsion before shoving his staff straight into it’s eyes. It shrieked as the jagged edges of the wood hit it’s face and it retreated.  
  
“Go go go!” 

They scrambled to get away from the door. Ian grabbed at Barley and Kris tried desperately to keep the pack from spilling all it’s contents. They were in another tunnel that was straight and flat. Kris didn’t care where it led as long as they were able to stay alive to get there. The problem was that the spiders were free to follow them, there was no way to shut the door except to go back and press the damnable button again. 

Kris’s lungs felt like they were on fire. She wasn’t in the best shape to begin with and the mushroom spores probably hadn’t helped. She felt more gem stones escape the pack, but at this point they were more of a hindrance than anything. If she could have she would have abandoned the pack all together. She kept moving forward, afraid to look back and see just how screwed they were. 

“They aren’t going to stop coming!” she heard Ian yell. 

“Block the tunnel!” Barley called back.  
  
Kris saw Ian stop for a moment, but she kept running. 

“Voltar Thundasir!” 

There was a loud crackling sound behind her and a roaring rumbling sound that followed. The earth beneath her feet started to shake. 

“Cave in!” Ian’s voice warned. 

She didn’t care how many stones dropped out the pack now, as long as she stayed alive. She deliberately clamped her hand down on what felt like a few lumps, but let her pack fall open. The rumbling sound wasn’t abating and she could feel sharp bits of stone and debris bounce of of her. She glanced over to her left and saw that both Ian and Barley were ahead of her. They did have longer legs. The glance cost her though, as she foot caught on something and she was sent hurtling to the ground, crashing into it hard. She screamed in pain and panic. She scrambled to get up but the moving earth caught up to her too quickly, encasing her up to her torso before stopping. Larger bits of rumble and stone grazed her as they fell, one banged painfully against her arm. Clouds of dirt plumed in the air and it was difficult to get a breath for her already oxygen starved lungs. 

“KRIS!” Barley voice called out in sheer terror. “No no no! _Kris!_ ” 

She was spluttering from the dust clouds too much to call back. Worse still she saw movement higher up the dirt pile, one of the spiders had made it through. It came for her, hissing and spitting, one of it’s legs had been crushed giving it a slightly hobbled gait. She didn’t have enough air in her lungs to scream. Eight glowing red eyes became crystal clear through the haze, along with a terrible little mouth forked by two giant fangs. Kris closed her eyes unable to do anything else. A sharp slicing pain went down her left forearm, she made a straggled gurgling wail and anticipated another strike.

There was a wet skewering sound and Kris looked back up to see Barley’s sword stuck through the creatures face. She sobbed in relief and pulled her injured arm into her chest, her right hand holding it. She could feel wet hot blood seep through her fingers. 

“Kris!” Barley pushed the spider and sword away at once and dropped down to her. She could see how panicked he looked through her tears. The only sound she could make was a coughing, shuddering cry. He patted his hands around her, feeling out where she was. They moved from her face down, finally coming to pat down on the mound of soil that encased the majority of her body. 

“Damn it!” he hissed. “Can you move? What else is hurt? I see blood.” 

“Is she okay?” Ian came up behind him. 

Kris could only make halting cries and gasp for air. Her body was starting to shake now. 

“She’s alive,” Barley sounded like he was on the verge of tears too. “She’s buried under dirt, help me get her out.” 

Barley and Ian shoveled as fast as they could with their hands. Luckily Kris felt like it was just dirt on top of her and not anything solid pining her down. Her legs didn’t feel like they were in pain either, but maybe she was just in shock. She knew she was bleeding, but only felt the sensation of wetness on her skin. They got her uncovered fairly quickly and Barley was able to pull her out the rest of the way, bringing her up into his arms. She sank gratefully into his chest, even though it was covered in dirt. He was panting heavily and Kris could hear his heart thumping rapidly. He held her face in one hand, rubbing his thumb against her cheek. His chest shook as a grateful sob came out and she felt him kiss her forehead.

A few moments past and Kris was able to regain her breath. As she calmed down a searing pain bloomed along her left arm. She grunted and pulled air through her teeth. 

“Oh fuck, you’re bleeding!” Barley pulled back a bit to look at her arm. 

“Here, let me see,” Ian said in a calm tone. 

Kris shakily extended her arm out. He gently pulled her right hand away, the motion hurt like hell as the dried blood on her fingers pulled on the open wound. He performed a healing spell and Kris experienced the oddest sensation of her skin knitting back together. 

“Thank you, Ian…” Barley said gratefully. 

Kris let out a breath and sniffed. Now her body was just full of the residual adrenaline and panic. “I… don’t ever… want to do that again…” 

Barley gave a shaky laugh and pulled her back into him, holding her tightly.

There were only three sapphires left, Kris was grateful to have any. In their haste to escape the spiders they’d also lost all but one of their torches. Barley had had the good sense to grab one. The tunnel they were in continued to go off into the darkness. There were no more stone carvings, no more decoration, just a plain tunnel carved out of the earth. Kris could see the occasional tree root sticking through the dirt so that at least meant they were close to the surface. 

With no where else to go, they headed down the tunnel and hoped it lead them out. It did, after only about ten minutes of walking a ladder appeared out of the darkness. Ian climbed up it quickly and found that a large stone was blocking the exit. He used the levitation spell to lift it out of the way. 

Finally they were out, the last glimpses of the daylight were retreating across the sky. Even the low light of sunset hurt their eyes. They were forced to stand stunned for a few minutes and wait to adjust. They had come out at the base of the foothills, not all that far from the column that Barley had spotted what felt like a thousand hours ago but had just been that morning. 

Now that she was no longer running for her life in a musty cave, Kris was starting to feel a sense of euphoria take over. She shook herself off, patting the dirt covering her body and laughing in relief. 

“I have so much dirt down my pants, it’s unreal.” 

“I want to go home and get in the shower and never come out,” Ian sighed. 

Barley swooped Kris up in one of his back breaking hugs laughing, “We fucking did it! AH Ha ha!” 

“Vic-tor-y!” Ian shouted out into the sky.   
  
“Fuck you, spiders! Fuck you, dirt! You can’t kill me!” Kris flipped the ground off. 

“Oh ho ho! That was amazing! But it also sucked! And wasn’t as emotionally satisfying as the last one… Mostly it was draining… Fuck!” Barley’s giggle was getting a little hysterical. 

“Can you still not see?” Kris asked.

“No, it’s actually worse after all that dirt! HA!” He stumbled down the hill a bit. “Everything is a blob! Big blob world!” 

“OH! We should call your mom and let her know we’re not dead!” Kris exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Ian agreed. “I’ll do a video call so she sees that we are very much alive.”  
  
“I’m alive you fucking asshole spiders!”

They all seemed to be riding the same endorphin high. 

* * * 


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing the first bit. I don't know if anyone will ever get this far into my self-indulgent romance novel, but it's fun as hell for me. So I'm gonna keep on going. 
> 
> I fuck with Officer Gore cause why not.

Laurel Lightfoot had been worried since her boys and Kris had left two days ago. It had been slightly reassuring to hear from them the night before, but it was getting late in the day again and she knew they’d actually started their quest today. She was hoping the only reason they weren’t calling was because of bad cell reception. If she didn’t hear from them within an hour she was getting in her car and going after them, maybe make Colt send out a search patrol. Why had she ended up with two boys? Specifically Barley, why had he come out so reckless and head strong? Oh yeah, because she was reckless and head strong. This had been easier when it was just Barley and he wouldn’t tell her what fool hardy thing he was up to until after it happened. 

Her phone rang and she snatched it up immediately. A video call from Ian, thank the gods. She answered it.

“Hey mom!” Ian’s face appeared in the twilight. His face and hair seemed to be covered in dirt and gunk and there was a strange redness around the top half of his face, it was too blotchy to be a sun burn though. His eyes were a bit blood shot too. Other than that he looked all right. Tired, but happy. 

“Hey sweetie! I’m so glad you called! How’s your brother?”

“I can’t see shit!” Barley’s voice came from off camera. 

“What?”

“Barley might be blind now,” Ian said with a weird twinge of amusement. Laurel could hear both Barley and Kris laughing in the background. 

“Wha… I- What do you mean blind? Why are you all laughing?” 

“Well,” Ian swallowed. “There were mushrooms and spores and Barley ran into them.”

“Like a fucking idiot!” Kris called out.

“Like an idiot,” Ian agreed. “And now he can’t see.” 

Laurel made an exasperated sigh, “Let me see your brother.”

“Mom wants to see you,” Ian said handing over the phone. The camera jostled around before focusing partly on Barley’s face. He looked absolutely **terrible**. Not only was the top part of his face more red, blotchy, and puffier than Ian’s, his eyes were very blood shot and filmed over. He was also completely covered in dirt and grime, the only exception being some very distinct tear tracks going down his face. She could tell he was having a hard time tracking the phone with his eyes. “Good evening, dear mother!” he drawled before bursting into a giggle fit. 

“Barley! What happened? My goodness you look awful!”

“I know, right? Actually I don’t know cause I can’t see! Hahaha!”

“Where are you? Can you get to a hospital? You need a doctor!” 

“Oh shit! Where are we? I only see a blob that is ground and a blob that is sky. That is the sky right?”

“That is sky,” Kris affirmed.

“Cool! But where are we?” Barley asked again. They all seemed to be walking down a hill. 

“Like two miles away from the van,” Kris chuckled. 

“Ian, do the navigation spell!” 

“Oh yeah! Where are we going again?”

“To Guinevere the Second! The mightiest of steeds!” Barley proclaimed. 

“Right! Navivera!” 

Laurel could see a brief flash of light after Ian recited the spell. 

“Cooool!” Kris enthused. “Is that gonna point us to Guinie 2?” 

“Indeed, fair maiden!” Barley seemed to have forgotten he was on a video call, because the camera was waving around wildly. 

“Hey! Can someone _please_ focus enough to tell me what the hell is going on?!” Laurel was glad they were at least alive, but they were all so loopy she was scared they’d all get lost in the woods. Were they drunk? 

“Oh!” She heard Kris say and then there was a scuffling sound as the camera was pulled away from Barley. Kris’s face came into focus next. She looked almost as rough as Barley. She was caked in dirt with the same red patches on her face peaking through and tear tracts to match Barley’s. There was a crack running through one of the lenses on her glasses. The camera slanted down a bit and Laurel saw blood soaked into her shirt. “Hi Laurel!” she said cheerfully.

“Kris! You’re bleeding!”

“Oh! No, I was bleeding, but Ian fixed me, see?” She held up her arm and all Laurel could make out was her forearm covered in dried blood. Laurel felt like reaching through the phone and straggling these kids. 

“What. Happened.” She repeated. 

“Right! Okay! So we got to the cavern, and it was very pretty! I took a video, I can show it to you when we get home!”

“Kris.” Laurel said sternly through gritted teeth.

“Sorry! I’m getting to it. So like we were getting sapphires but then a whole horde of giant spiders attacked us and we had to book it out of there as fast as we could, but there were two doors and one couldn’t open without the another one closing and we had to wait for it to open and then we could go through, but then so could the spiders and they were mad! Did you know giant spiders can make words come out of their gross little faces? I hate it! Worst sound I’ve ever heard!” Kris took a breathe before continuing, “Anyway! They were chasing us and I had the sapphires, but they were really heavy and I can’t run that fast anyway, so I had to dump some, which sucks… but oh! So Ian blocked the tunnel, we were in a tunnel-”

“He made Arcane Lighting again! It was fucking amazing!” Barley interjected. 

“Is that what happened? I didn’t look back.”

“Ah man, it was sick! He just stopped and then BAM! I didn’t really see it either cause, huh, yeah, but he did it so quick! You’re so good at magic, little brother!” 

“Thank you, big brother!”

This was like trying to get Blazey to sit still for the vet. Laurel felt a headache start to form right behind her eye. 

“Kris, please focus. Why were you bleeding? Why are Barley’s eyes fucked up?”

“Those are two different stories!”

“Oh wonderful.”

“Where was I… oh yeah! So Ian did his cool lighting thing and then the cave started caving in! Wait, the cave… caved in… that’s redundant.”

Laurel made a squeaking sound in her throat that only dragons could hear. 

“Yeah, so cave is caving and I’m running, but then I trip and dirt comes at me and I’m buried and there’s still a fucking spider coming for me and it slashes at me, hence the bleeding, eh?” She raised her arm again and made a face like this was supposed to have tied everything together to make it coherent. Laurel just stared at her phone apathetically. 

“And then Barley stabbed the spider in the face! That was fucking amazing! How did you even see it?”   
  
Barley made the ‘I dunno’ sound, “I saw a glowy red blob, I stabbed the glowy red blob.” 

“You could have accidentally stabbed me!”

“I could have, yeah.” 

“I’m glad you did not.”

“Me too!” Barley’s arm came into frame as it wrapped around Kris’s shoulder. Kris had the dumb happy look on her face that Laurel would sometimes catch her making at her son. It would have been sweet if she didn’t feel like screaming at them. 

“So, Ian fixed me and we got out the tunnel and then we called you! The end!”

“That doesn’t…” she groaned and pulled her hand down her face. “Why are you acting like morons? Are you high?”

“Oh! I think we’re high on en..dol, in-dol… en-dolphins… No, that’s wrong. Endolphins, ha! Now I can’t not say it. Endolphins! We’re high on dolphins!” 

“High on dolphiiinss~!” Barley echoed. 

“Dolphins!” Ian’s voice came from far away. 

“Are you trying to say endorphins?”

“That’s the one!” 

“Okay… but what about Barley’s eyes? Why can’t he see?”

“Cause the spores and the mushrooms and stuff. Anyway Ian’s phone is dying! We’ll be back tomorrow! I love you BYE!”

“No! Kris- wha… uhhhhhh…” The call ended and when Laurel tried to call back it went straight to Ian’s voice mail. 

“Are the kids okay, Laurel?” Colt asked her hesitantly. They’d been finishing up dinner when Ian called and her husband had stayed patiently silent through the whole interaction. 

“Did they sound okay?”

“Do ya need me to call in? Send somebody out there?”

Laurel grit her teeth. She wanted to believe Kris when she said they’d be back tomorrow. They’d been two miles from the van… The sun was going down, it would be dark soon. An endorphin high only lasts so long and they had all looked exhausted. 

“Yes, make sure they don’t fall down a hole or get eaten. And send a medic if you can, they all looked rough, but Barley…”

Colt nodded, “I’ll go make the call.” 

* * *

Walking to the van was a blessed relief compared to the cold descent into the cavern. It was so much warmer outside and the open air was so freeing to be in. Kris, Barley, and Ian whooped and giggled down the foothills with Ian’s navigation spell leading the way. It was a sparkling arrow of energy that stayed ahead of Ian by about two feet and pointed steadfastly to their destination. 

Barley kept running into rocks and trees, so Kris and Ian took turns leading him around. The sun was fading fast however and soon none of them could see very well. In their euphoric rush to be outside they’d left the torch in the tunnel. Luckily the navigation spell was bright enough to illuminate their immediate path. The forest also came to life at night as little fireflies and will-o-wisps floated lazily in the air. Clusters of little mushrooms on trees gave off bio-luminescence too. Kris was immediately weary of them but they didn’t look like the same species and didn’t have clouds of spores coming off of them. 

As they walked the earlier high started to fade and Kris became aware of just how tired, sore, and absolutely covered in grime she was. The worst feeling was the dirt that had snuck it’s way into her underwear. The longer she walked the worse it got and she was dying to sink into a hot bath and get everything off of her. Ian seemed equally uncomfortable, scratching at his skin and occasionally getting the shivers and patting himself off. Barley didn’t seem to care how dirty he was, instead becoming drowsy, leaning against Kris more and more. He also wouldn’t let go of her, refusing to let Ian guide him and clinging to her instead.   
  
The hike back didn’t feel as long as the ascent. The whole thing was down hill and Kris was also too tired to pay attention to too much of anything except keeping Barley from falling. Before long Kris could see the familiar clearing where Guinie 2 was parked and as soon as the van was in sight, the navigation spell dissipated. 

Kris was about to give a sighing laugh of relief at the sight of the old girl, but Ian’s arms went up.

“There’s somebody down there,” he said in a hushed voice. 

Kris and Barley froze. 

“Is it… wolf-dragons?” Kris whined quietly.

“No, it sounds like a person.” 

They decided Barley was best left hidden behind a tree while Ian and Kris crept down the hill to see who was there. Once they got close, they hid behind a bush and peered through it. Now that they were lower down on the hill, Kris could see there was a cop car parked next to the van. 

“Oh, is it Colt?” Kris asked. She was about to stand up and announce herself.

“Shhh! Wait…” Ian pulled her back.

“Why? We haven’t done anything wrong have we?” Kris didn’t exactly know what their laws were like, but she knew that cops in this dimension didn't even carry guns. 

“I dunno, I just have a gut feeling…” Ian shrugged.

“Are you turning into Barley?” Kris mocked. 

He made a face at her. 

A flashlight’s beam came into view and brought their attention back to the clearing. 

“Hello?” A bored annoyed voice called out. “Is anyone out here?” A short female satyr in a cop uniform came around the van. Kris couldn’t really see her face in the dark, but she didn’t sound very pleased to be out here. She rapped her knuckles along the van as she walked around it. “Anyone in there? Guhhh, I can’t believe I got roped into checking on the Lightfoot kids… Colt needs to put that big one on a leash…”

“Oh, it’s her…” Ian grumbled. 

“Who?”

“I dunno her name, but she’s the one who called Barley a screw up…”

“When did that happen?”

“Did Barley not tell you that part of the quest story?”

Kris shook her head, “I think he glossed over a lot of stuff… We didn’t know each very well when he first told it.”

“Hm, anyway she’s kinda…”

“Judgy?”

“Yeah…”

“If we decided to talk to her it would be a headache, wouldn’t it?” Kris guessed. _Put Barley on a leash… I’ll put you on a leash, you judgy judge cop…_

“Oh!” Ian gave an excited whisper. “I have an idea…” 

* * *

Officer Gore usually really enjoyed her job, but tonight was an exception. Somehow, even though everybody else was helping out with a fire on the other side of town, she’d ended up having to deal with her coworker’s step kids. If she didn’t think Colt was such a good guy, she wouldn’t have done it in the first place. 

Colt had told her where the kids were supposed to be and Gore had found herself going down horrible Gods forsaken roads only to find the eye sore the big guy called a car completely empty. She’d called out and searched the area, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of the twerps. Man, was she glad to have never had children. 

She was about to call in and report when she heard a branch break in the bushes. 

“Hey! Anybody there?” she pointed her flash light in the general direction of the noise. There wasn’t anything there, but the leaves on one of the bushes swayed with residual movement. Maybe it was just a unicorn or something…

A car door slammed behind her, she whirled around and flashed a beam at the van. No sign of anyone. She checked her squad car, nobody there either. Was she hearing things? The headlights on the van started to flash on and off. A rising sense of unease and fear started to well up inside her. Officer Gore was a superstitious person and she wasn’t about to let some ghost or trickster spirit get the better of her. 

“Is that supposed to be scary? Ol' Gore doesn’t back down over some noises and lights! You can’t scare me, ghost!”

“Officer Gore…” she name was whispered way too close to her ear. Her spine shivered involuntarily. 

“Officer Gore~” the voice repeated in her other ear. “Maybe you shouldn’t be so judgy, Officer Gore!” The vans light kept flashing on and off. 

“Back off, ghost!”

“Oh, but I’m no oRdinARy GhoOsst! I’m here to warn you! Your deeds in life form the chains you carry in your death!” The lights flashed and the van’s horn started honking over and over. 

“What? Stop it!”

“Your chains are forged by what you say and do! So, have your fun! When life is done a nightmare waits for you! So maybe you should learn to mind your own fucking business, hmmm?” The car honked continuously and she heard creepy shuffling sounds too close to her person. 

Gore had no idea what this ghost was going on about but she didn’t want to stick around a find out. “Screw the Lightfoot kids, I’m out!” she scrambled to her vehicle and drove off as fast as she could. 

* * *

Ian voice came out of the van cackling as the cop car sped off into the distance. “That was so good! What did you say to her?”

Kris shrugged, but then realized Ian wouldn’t be able to see that. “I used an old ghost story from my dimension.”

“Her whole face went white!” 

“Your chains are forged by what you say and do! So have your fun! When life is done a nightmare waits for you! We’re Marley and Marley! OoooooOOOHH! We’re Marley and Marley!~ Now I’m gonna have that song stuck in my head for a week…” 

“It’s catchy, whatever it is.” 

“Why are you singing, Kris?” Barley’s voice called down from the woods. 

“Oh!” Kris had forgotten about Barley for a second. When Ian had proposed they use the invisibility spell to scare the pants off the cop, they hadn’t taken the time to go back up and tell him about it. 

“Ian and I scared the shit out of the cop that called you a screw up!” she called out. “We’re invisible right now!” 

“Awww man! I missed out on hi jicks, didn’t I?” 

“Didn’t you hear the car horns?” Ian asked.

“I may have fallen asleep against this tree…” 

“Yeah it’s time to sleep for like… a year,” Kris concluded. “But first I am dying to get out of these gross ass clothes. I’m going to change in the van, Ian can you go get Barley?” 

* * *

Barley was so tired he was tempted to just stay under this tree for the rest of the night. When he heard foot steps come up to him, he groaned and sank forward, willing himself to stand up. Every muscle in his body ached as he propped himself up against the tree. 

“I’m on your right,” Ian’s voice said. 

Barley reached out limply with his right arm and felt his brother’s hand on his shoulder. “Honestly with how well I can see right now it doesn’t matter if you’re invisible or not.” 

“I really hope you’re not blind…” Ian said sympathetically.

“I’ll be fine.” Barley honestly didn’t know what was going to happen to his sight, but his strategy with injury so far in his life had been to worry about it only when the doctor told you to worry. 

Ian guided him through the brush and let go once they made it to the clearing. 

“Kris is changing in the van,” he informed Barley. 

“Okay,” Barley nodded and hobbled over to van and after feeling it out with his fingers, flung up the sliding side door. 

“Barley! Why?!”

“Jesus! I’m naked in here!”

Both Ian and Kris had simultaneous reactions not realizing the situation really didn’t warrant it. 

“You guys forget you’re invisible?” Barley asked sleepily with a twinge of amusement. 

“Barley, the spell stops working if you feel out of place!” Kris said threw clenched teeth. 

“Oh… woops…” 

“I didn’t see anything, I swear!” Ian’s voice cracked as he spoke. 

“Close the door!”

Barley grunted up into the van and shut the door behind him before collapsing into the bean bag. “I’m sorry… I’m tired…” 

“It’s okay,” Kris sighed. “Man, those stupid spores really did a number on my skin! Any part of me that was exposed hurts to touch.” 

He grunted his agreement, he didn’t need to be reminded of how much that cloud of spores had hurt to run through. At least they’d accomplished what they’d set out to do… 

“Hey, come’re…” he muttered, gesturing for her to sit on him.

“Let me put on some clothes first.”

“No, please?” He hadn’t wanted to be separated from her since the cave in and he desperately wanted to feel her skin on his and reassure himself that she was very much alive and well. 

“But I’m all gross…”

“And I’m fresh as a daisy, come’re.” 

“Okay…” she gave in and tentatively placed herself on top of him, sitting in his lap. “My arms and chest are all spore scorched so, be careful…” 

“Mmm,” his hands were finally able to run across her thighs and back and her lips met his. He felt a layer of grit and sweat but underneath she was still soft and warm and his. Desire rose up in him quickly and he wanted her, he wanted her more than ever before. He wanted to feel her against him and fill her up. Make her moan and giggle and sigh softly in his ear. He wanted the sensation of loving her to take up his whole being so he could forget the sound of her crying in the dark. 

“Barley, I- mmmm, I don’t think it’s a good time for that,” Kris’s breath hitched as she pulled her face away from his. 

“I don’t care.” He pressed his mouth up to hers again. She indulged him for a few moments, but he could tell she wasn’t as ravenous as he was. When she pulled away again, he let her. 

“I’m sorry, but no…” 

He swallowed and felt like an asshole. “You shouldn’t ever feel sorry for not wanting to… I just…” 

“I would want to if we-”

“No, I know. I know, it’s not a good time…” 

“Are you okay?” She asked with worry in her voice. He felt her brush his hair with her fingers.  
  
“No…” 

Kris didn’t say anything and instead kissed him softly and tenderly. “I’m sorry you can’t see…”

“I don’t give a fuck about my eyes,” Barley snorted.

“But then what…?”

“You could have died. And you were hurt and terrified and I hated hearing you in pain. I’m grateful I couldn’t see your face clearly or that would have nearly killed me.”

“I’m okay now though…” 

“You are…” Barley said this more to himself than her. He pulled her close and pressed his hands against her soft body. 

“I’m right here,” she said sweetly and kissed one side his jaw and then the another. “I’m here to stay.”

Barley felt his body relax for the first time in many hours. “With me?”

“With you.” 

_Marry me_ … he thought. _Be mine forever…_ He felt the pressure her lips softly on his one last time before he fell asleep. 

* * * 


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The quest is done, time for the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep saying this is a fluffy story and then I do shit like put a dissociative episode and more reference to parental abuse. Trigger warnings for those things in this chapter.

That night she slept like the dead. Kris couldn’t move Barley off the bean bag and it wasn’t comfortable to share it with him, so she ended up in the sleeping bag by herself. The next time she woke up though, he’d moved to her side in the night, his arm draped over her and his face pressed up against the back of her head. Her heart fluttered waking up the the feeling of his warm body on her back. She’d never been in a relationship where she’d felt loved before. Plenty where she’d felt in love and some where she didn’t but her partner had, but never at the same time and certainly not this intensely. 

They weren’t the kind of couple to constantly say ‘I love you’, but boy did she feel it every time he kissed her. Especially last night. She had wanted to let him keep going, wanted to let him take whatever he’d been so desperate for, but it just wasn’t the right time. She hoped he kept that fire for when they were home. When they were clean and safe and healthy. When he could see again. 

The fact that he’d run into those spores without even hesitating still made her angry. Another option hadn’t even crossed his mind. He needed to learn that he was important too. If he was unwilling to lose her, why couldn’t he see that she couldn’t lose him? 

She swallowed that thought and opened her eyes. There was light in the van, it was well into morning. She wanted to keep laying next to Barley and sleep through the whole day, but the sooner they got home the better. When she moved her body however, pain shot through every muscle. 

“Aauurrrgh… fuck…” she couldn’t help groaning. Her skin hurt, her everything hurt. 

“Huh wha…?” Ian’s sleepy voice mumbled. 

“Ow ow ow ow, oooohhh sweet fuckin’ christ on a stick…” Kris felt like she needed to keep a string of curses and obscenities going to keep the pain from getting to her as she sat up. Barley and Ian needed to wake up too anyway. They were all tired, but it was more important to get home. 

“Hrrm,” Barley grumbled and tried to pull her back down but that made her actually cry out in pain. 

“AH! Oh! Shit! What is happening?” Barley was shocked into consciousness by her out burst. 

“We have to get up…” she grunted pathetically. 

“Nooooo…” Ian mumbled. 

“We have to get home or your mom will kill us all. And I think we all need to see a doctor…” 

“Nooooo…” Ian repeated.

“You can take a shower at home.”

“. . . okay.” 

“I can’t see.” Barley said with mild surprise. So much for hoping he’d miraculously recover in the night. 

“Like… at all or the same blobby shapes?” Kris asked. 

“Oh that was weird, I totally forgot what happened for a split second. Yeah, no same blob shapes.”

“Same blob channel…” Kris sighed.

“What?”

“Sorry, random cultural reference. Can’t even remember what it’s from, it’s just in mah brain meats.”

“You talk weird in the morning…” Ian muttered.

“I talk weird all the time, I’m just letting my guard down for the first time around you.”

Barley’s stomach made an alarming gurgling noise. “I may be very hungry.”

“All the more reason to get back home.”

They all struggled and flailed to get up. They were all suffering from sore muscles, irritated skin and general fatigue. Ian seemed to be the one least affected though, getting over the initial hump of waking up and actually being able to move around fairly well. Kris figured it was because he was the youngest, but also because he’d sustained the least amount of injury. 

Kris elected to stay in her make shift pajamas. She had brought sweat pants with her, but hadn’t brought another shirt, so she’d found an old Barley shirt in the van. It smelled bad, but at least it wasn’t soaked in her own blood. She also wasn’t wearing a bra anymore and she hoped the baggy shirt could hide the fact. Her bra was also disgusting. 

She tried to wash herself off a little bit with a spare sock but her skin was so tender. She ended up just patting at it to try and get some of the blood and dirt off. She was also not looking forward to having to deal with the garbage fire that was her hair. 

Barley looked worse than ever, his eyelids were kind of wrinkled now and his skin was even more inflamed with a dark reddish purple hue. All of their spore scorched skin was worse now. Those mushrooms had been nasty nasty business. 

With Barley out of commission and Kris not having a license in this dimension, Ian was now the driver. He was also the most healthy so it seemed all for the best. While he started their drive back home, Barley picked over what food was left in the van. There was still a little bit of junk food, but he’d eaten all the turkey sandwiches and the pb & j had now completely soaked through from the jelly and were incredibly unappetizing. Kris had to wrestle one apple away for herself before he ate it. The carrot sticks were soon gone as well. 

“I’m not even kind of full… We need to go to a Burger Shire or something before we go home.” 

“I vote food, then medical treatment, then home.” Kris proposed. 

“Deal.” The brothers said at once.

Barley also still wanted Kris to be as close to him as possible. He made her sit in his lap in the passenger seat. Kris found this to be incredibly unsafe, but they compromised a bit by putting the seat belt over both of them. Kris ended up putting her feet up on the dashboard and it turned to be a fairly comfortable position. 

The drive back was quiet. All of them were so drained none of them had the energy for conversation. When Ian pulled up to the nearest Burger Shire drive thru hours later it was the first time they’d spoken a word since the morning. 

“I want four griffin burgers, a milkshake, fries, onion rings and a soda.” Barley ordered.

“Yer gonna make yourself throw up,” Kris snorted. 

“Okay fine, no milkshake.”

They ate in the parking lot, sitting in the open doors of the van. Kris was certain they made quite the spectacle, looking like tired dirty burn victims. The cashier of the Burger Shire’s expression had gone from confused to horrified as soon as she’d seen Barley’s face. Kris tried to make Barley eat slowly, but he still ate two burgers within minutes of each other. She didn’t get back on his lap when they left for the hospital. 

When they ambled into the lobby of the ER, the nurses took one look at Barley and ushered him back for treatment while Ian and Kris were left to fill out paperwork. Once they were admitted, Ian also used the phone at the nurses station to call home. They hadn’t been able to update Laurel since his phone had died. They’d gone to a hospital closest to them coming back so it didn’t make sense for her to drive all the way out there until they knew how Barley was. 

“I had Colt call in a friend to check on you, but she reported back hysterical saying Barley’s van was haunted. I assume that was you kids?”

“Yeah… that was me and Kris,” Ian confessed. “Sorry.” 

“At least I knew you hadn’t died. Please promise me not to go on anymore dangerous quests until I’m dead?” Laurel asked firmly. 

“I’d like to be done with dangerous quests until I’m dead.”

“Good.”

The medical staff cleaned their spore scorched skin, which hurt like hell at first but was eventually soothed with medicated cream. Barley had known the exact species of mushroom they’d encountered and it’s effects lined up with their skin. They were given more of the cream to put on and pills to take once a day for a week. Since Barley had a more severe case he had to take the pills for longer. He’d also been given two sets of eye drops to use. First five times a day for a week, then three times a day, and then eventually once a day until he regained sight. Kris was so relieved he’d be fine she nearly cried. Ian called his mother back and let her know they’d be home soon. 

Driving back, Ian had perked up considerably. The food and having their skin treated had lightened all their moods, but he seemed the most bright eyed. 

“I’m gonna live in that shower once I get home,” he said, smiling and leaning forward in his seat as if he were speeding, but he was firmly not. 

“You can’t unless you want to share it with me,” Kris rebutted.

“I call dibs then!”

“That’s no fair… I’m too tired to call dibs…”

“I’ll race you then.”

“Also not fair, mister long and lanky.”

“Then I guess I win by default!”

Kris sighed and relented. Now that her skin was starting to calm down, being dirty for a bit longer wouldn’t be that bad. At least she didn’t have to hike anywhere. 

“You and me can shower together anyway.” Barley said happily.

“Oh gross! Please don’t… do anything in there! I use that room!” 

“Ian, does it look like I’m in the mood?” Kris asked tiredly. 

He didn’t look back at her, but seemed to relax from her tone, “At least I’m going first.” He muttered to himself. 

They got home in the late evening and as Guinie 2 pulled up into the drive way, Laurel and Colt were already outside waiting for them. 

“Oh sweetie, I’m so glad you’re home!” She pulled Ian into a big hug as soon as he was out of the driver’s seat. 

“Aha ha! Mom interference! Now’s my chance!” Kris hobbled out of the van and made for the house. 

“No! Mom, please let go! I need that shower first!”

“Just a bit longer.” Laurel wasn’t letting up.

Ian made exasperated grunts and groans as Kris feigned a few more tired steps before stopping. “Relax, I’ll let you go first.” 

He let out a sigh of relief and hugged his mom back before she let go. 

As Barley came around the van, Laurel gasped audibly, “Barley! My gods! It’s worse in person!” She proceeded to dote on and berate him in turn. Ian took the opportunity to make a bee line inside. Laurel gestured for everyone to go inside, so she could hear what had actually happened. 

Barley seemed well acquainted with talking his mother down after he’d severely injured himself. 

“I’m fine! Kris has all the meds I need and the doc said I’d be back to normal in a couple weeks!”

They sat at the dining table, Laurel staring hard at her son’s damaged face. Kris’s innate urge for tea meant she hadn’t sat down yet, but as soon as she got her cup, she sighed grateful down into a chair. 

“How did you end up blind anyway? And don’t say mushrooms and call it good!”

“We had to go through a cavern with sonic spore mushrooms and the last stretch was crowded off with spores. I had to lead us through in order to keep going,” Barley explained.

“No, you _decided_ you had to lead us through…” Kris said with contempt. 

Laurel's eyes darted back at Kris to see that she also was not pleased with Barley’s current injury. 

“I wasn’t going to let you or Ian do it,” Barley stated firmly. 

“And going back didn’t even cross your mind,” she grumbled back. 

“That would have made this all take longer! We got through didn’t we? We got the sapphires now and I’m fine!” Barley seemed to want to brush this all off like water on a duck’s back. He gave the general direction of Kris, a happy satisfied smile. If he’d been able to see her expression, he wouldn’t have. 

Laurel picked up on the tension and gave Kris’s hand a supportive squeeze. Kris tried to convey through expression that this subject wasn’t over and she’d be giving Barley a piece of her mind later. 

“What I’d like to know, is why my co-worker and friend who was kind enough to check up on you kids, called back yelling about ghosts?” Colt eyed Barley suspiciously. 

“That was me and Ian,” Kris confessed. “Barley was asleep behind a tree.” 

“Now why would you do a thing like that?” His gazed transfered over to her, looking miffed and disappointed. It was very parental, he gotten the hang of that aspect at least. 

Kris gave an exaggerated shrug, “I dunno, we were tired and loopy.” She didn’t want to add in her opinion of the ‘kind’ officer in question. 

“Oh Officer Gore is fine, no harm done.” Laurel waved it away. “Have you kids eaten yet? I’ve got leftovers I can re-heat.”

“We got food on the way home,” Barley said. 

She nodded, “Now, you’re going to tell me exactly was happened, start to finish.”

* * *

Ian took his sweet time in the bathroom and by the time Kris and Barley could get in there it even later in the night. Everyone was in bed now, except them. 

“I’m going to burn this pair of underwear and I think my tank top back in the van is done-zo as well…” Kris said.

“There’s a lot of dirt isn’t there?” Barley chuckled as he pulled off his clothes. Kris didn’t have the energy to make them clean the bathroom after this. She’d try to at least get the big dirt piles. 

“You need to get that vest deep cleaned. How to do you normally wash it?”

“Wash it?”

“Right…” 

They rinsed off under the shower, taking turns. Kris tried not to make audible moans of relief since everybody was sleeping, but she couldn’t help making some noise.

“They’re gonna think we _are_ fucking if you get any louder,” Barley snickered. 

“I’m not apologizing for enjoying not having dirt up my butt…”

Once they got the initial grime off, they filled the tub. Barley sat in the water enjoying himself while opposite him, Kris tried to wrangle her hair into submission with a comb and a lot of conditioner. 

“This is nice…” he sighed contentedly. 

“It’s nice not to be gross anymore, yeah.” She grunted at a particularly stubborn knot. There was probably some cobweb stuck in there. 

“Quest complete,” he said with satisfaction and put his arms behind his head. “Now we can really start to get your spell working. You’ll be back home in no time!” 

“Well, your eyes need to heal first,” Kris gave him a curt glance she knew he couldn’t see. 

He shrugged like this wasn’t that big of a deal. Silence stretched between them. Barley seemed to just be enjoying the water and rubbing his foot against her thigh. Kris on the other hand was boiling with suppressed frustration and annoyance. She didn’t know how to handle this. They hadn’t ever really fought before. She had gotten a little frustrated with him at times for being a little too careless, but if she raised a mild issue he was more than willing to work on it. This was different. 

He’d made the decision to put himself at risk without a second thought, without thinking she might have a problem with that. He wasn’t remorseful either, quite the contrary. He didn’t seem to think this was a big deal at all. She took her frustration out on her hair, clawing at the knots with the comb. 

“Having trouble over there?” Barley asked good naturedly.

“You could say that…” she grumbled darkly and growled at another fierce knot. 

“Hey, you sound kinda mad. Is your hair that bad?” 

Kris blew air out her nose and dropped her hands into the water. How was she going to approach this? 

“Are you mad cause you might have to cut it?” he guessed.

“No, Barley. I’m not mad at my hair.” She said tersely. 

Barley lifted his head and tried to look at her, she knew he was probably only able to see her vague shape. “Are you…?” he paused, genuinely confused. “Why do you sound mad?”

She gritted her teeth, “because I am mad.”

“Why?”

“Because you seem to think it’s fine that you fucked yourself up for my sake. Not even my sake, for maybe getting the quest done quicker. We didn’t _need_ to have those sapphires today. Hell, I didn’t think we would even find them this time around. I was prepared to take our time and do things safely, cause that’s what a normal sensible person would do in this situation! But nooooo, you have to be the big dumb hero!” She knew that last part was harsh and she didn’t even really believe it, but she was too heated.

Barley’s face had gone from utter confusion to disagreement to stubborn opposition during her outburst.  
  
“But we did get the sapphires and now you’ll get to go home sooner! I’m fine! The meds will get my sight back, so what’s the problem?”

“The problem is your stupid hero complex,” Kris’s teeth were clenched. “I didn’t ask you to put yourself in harm’s way, I didn’t need you to take that risk.”

“I did what I did because I love you,” he said defiantly with a touch of hurt in his voice.

He couldn’t have said anything worse.

_Because I love you._

_I’m doing this because I love you._

Her father’s face came into her head, memories of every time he’d ever berated her for not being good enough. Lecture after lecture about how to do better, how to be better. And every time she had recoiled into herself he had always, _always_ , looked her in the face and said he was doing this because he loved her. 

Suddenly she was crying and full of fear and old anxiety. This wasn’t the same thing at all, deep down she knew it wasn’t. But the words had triggered that familiar abusive pattern into her brain. This was just how she was trained to react. Suddenly she wasn’t in control of her feelings anymore. _Be quiet, he’ll go away if you’re quiet._ The well worn emotions of shame and inadequacy crowded her thoughts. Her anger at Barley, her fatigue, and now these old wounds were combining into a maelstrom of emotion in her head. An involuntary shaky breath escaped her. 

Barley had also stayed silent. As she sat stunned, his brow had crinkled into thought. 

“Or is this about me not being able to help when the spiders showed up. If I’d been able to see, I could have taken your backpack… you could have run faster and we’d have more sapphires to work with… You wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” 

_No! No no!_ That wasn’t even close to what she’d been trying to say. She had wanted him to know that his life was just as important as hers. That he mattered. That he shouldn’t be the one to sacrifice everything all the time. She could have waited if it meant he was okay. But her brain was trying to disassociate and if she tried to speak now it would just be a wailing spasm of emotion that could make everything even worse. 

Barley’s fists clenched as his face hardened. “I screwed up again, didn’t I?”

Kris let out the breath she’d been holding in, “No!” at least she’d managed to say that. But now that she’d let herself release that tiny bit, her sobs were no longer silent. 

His face contorted at the sound, “You’re crying… I fucked this all up. I-” he made a sharp grunting sound and covered his face with his hands. 

“No! B-barley, it’s not that-” her words came out in shuddering halting gasps. “I’m fucked up, it’s m-me. I can’t-” she broke down crying. She was so tired. She didn’t have the energy to explain what was happening to her. 

“Fuck, I’m such an idiot!” he hissed. 

Kris felt like she was trapped inside her own body. She wanted to scream, to knock herself out of this. He was getting it all wrong and she couldn’t explain why. A profound feeling of helplessness gripped her heart. Why did she have to be so fucked up? 

His arms pulled her in then. She slid up to him trying to let her body at least relax into his touch. 

“I’m sorry,” he breathed. “I’m sorry I fucked up, it’s my fault you got hurt…” 

The absurdity of that logic made her cough laugh. She shook her head vehemently and at least now she was up against him and he could feel her do it. “No.” She managed to say firmly. 

Now that he could feel her body shaking, Barley seemed to be pulled out of his self-hate spiral enough to be confused again. “What’s happening?” 

Kris wrapped her arms under his and hugged him as tightly as she could. She willed herself to be grounded in the embrace. _Just concentrate on this_ , she thought. _Just think about how this feels._ Her skin was still tender so there was mild pain, but mostly she tried to concentrate on how solid and soft Barley felt. Her heart was pounding. 

Barley seemed confused at first but then started to pay attention to how her body was acting. 

“Are you? Are you having another panic attack?” 

She honestly didn’t know, but wouldn’t be surprised. She started taking in deep breaths and letting them out slowly. 

“Do you need me to count?” he asked. Now that there was something more tangible for him to do, he seemed to have calmed down. 

Kris shook her head and just gripped onto him more tightly. She just needed some time and to feel him up against her. He was still tense, probably more from pure puzzlement at this point, but he did rub her back and hold her. 

After several minutes of letting her brain calm down and only focus on one thing, Kris was starting to feel more in control. She lessened her hold and fell into a more relaxed hug. “Okay…” she breathed. “Okay, I’m okay…”

“I’m not sure what just happened, but I’m sor-”

“No,” she cut him off. “That was a me thing. Dad trigger thing. Not you.” Short sentences seemed to be good. She still couldn’t form much of a thought besides how much of a tired mess she was. 

“A what trigger thing? What? Now I’m more confused… you were mad at me, right?”

Kris couldn’t help laughing. Her anger had faded with the episode. Okay, she had to get this out before he thought up some worse logic. She pulled back to look him in the face and pulled her hands up to hold it up to hers. His filmy bloodshot eyes stared back at her with bewilderment and guilt. 

“I was mad because you don’t care about yourself. I was mad because I don’t want you to hurt yourself on my behalf. Ever. I don’t care about the spiders, or getting hurt, or how many sapphires we got. I care about you. You matter more than some extra time. You matter. Period.” 

The confusion in his eyes didn’t lessen, but his face relaxed a bit. 

“I may be too tired to process this…” he muttered. 

Kris gave a low laugh and nodded. 

She desperately wanted to be in bed now, but she knew if she didn’t finish getting her hair untangled she actually might have to chop some off and she didn’t want that. Barley was dazed and still unsure of what happened, but he didn’t seem to be upset either. Just exhausted. 

She felt bad, but once her hair was combed, they dried off and left the bathroom in utter chaos. They both snuck down the halls butt naked, because they’d forgotten to bring up a change of clothes. Luckily it was almost midnight at this point and nobody was up to see them. 

When she finally sunk into bed it was one of the most satisfying things she’d ever experience. It was short lived however. She felt her irritated skin against the sheets and made a pathetic whining sound in her throat. 

“Wha?” Barley mumbled, he tried to pull her into him, but she resisted.

“Hafta put on cream,” she groaned. The bath had washed off the medicated cream and she knew if they didn’t reapply it she’d wake up in pain and so would Barley. He made a grunt like he didn’t care, but Kris was resolute and got out of bed. 

Once she got the stuff, she sank back into bed and started sleepily applying it onto herself. Instantly her skin started to feel better.

“Your turn,” her arm thwapped down onto Barley’s face trying to give him the tube of cream. The lights were off so she couldn’t see and she was too tired to control her muscles properly. 

“YOW!” Barley jolted. 

“Sorry! Sorry, sorry, I’m sorry,” she pulled her hand away but kept it close enough to still offer it. “You gotta do it though, ya gotta or pain…” 

“I’m in pain now,” Barley sniffed.

“I’m sorry…”

“I was asleep…”

“I’m sorry, put on the goop.” 

“Don’t wanna.”

“I’ll do it if you don’t.”

That made Barley take the tube.   
  
* * *

When Laurel got up the next morning there were two distinct sets of muddy foot prints coming out of the bathroom. One big and one small… She felt the same wave of resignation wash over her every time Barley made a huge mess somewhere. She opened the bathroom to find the floor covered in clods of dirt and obvious pools of mud that had formed after the two had gotten out of the bath. Their clothes were in a crusty heap in the corner. She went down to Barley’s room, all ready to badger them into cleaning up the mess no matter how tired they were. 

Both of them were completely naked and 100% dead to the world, a sheet haphazardly snaked over their bodies. Kris was star fished out on the bed, mouth hanging up and snoring loudly while Barley was on his stomach draped halfway over her with his head in the crook of her neck. In his hand was a tube of something that was uncapped and looping out onto the bed. It looked like whatever it was, was smeared over the sheets in streaks and there was a big glob of it on his arm. 

Laurel had been half way down the stairs when she’d looked down at them. She pivoted and went back up. There was no way they were waking up any time soon and she definitely didn’t want to be the one to do it anyway. She was beginning to suspect that Kris was just as much of a walking disaster as her son was. 


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starts sad, ends horny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt bad just leaving it on a sad chapter for a while, so here's a bit of a happier one to pause things on. I'm definitely going to keep going, but I tend to like to write large chunks and sit on them for a while to refine the scenes.

Kris woke up to a sharp loud sound in her ears and after the disorienting moment of suddenly being awake, she realized it was her own snore. She coughed and sucked in a breath, stretching out her body as it gained consciousness. She felt a lot better. She was clean, she was warm, she was rested, she was covered in something goopy… Wait. 

She looked down to see Barley’s arm over her torso and the tube of topical cream clutched in his hand, half of it already squeezed out. All over the bed. They may have been too tired last night. Hopefully the pharmacy would give them more. 

Her brain was in that sleepy calm between awareness and a completely empty head. She stared up at the ceiling waiting for her consciousness to load like a computer booting up. Barley’s hot breath was right up against her neck and as she started to move, he grunted and snorted awake too. He made a sucking sound and pulled away from the puddle of drool he’d made on the pillow. 

“Hrmmm?” he throat made a questioning sound as he lifted the tube in his hand before he grunted dismissively and dropped it, pulling Kris into him instead. He smooshed his face up to the side of hers like she was a teddy bear he didn’t want to let go of. 

Kris languished in the drowsy peace of the moment, before realizing her arm was trapped under Barley and it was very much numb. She wriggled it under him, trying to get the feeling back. The sensation also brought her closer into actually being awake. 

“My arm’s asleep… please?” she pulled at it.

“Huhhh…” Barley made a sighing exhale and rolled back away from her. 

As she flexed and shook out her arm, her mind finally recalled all that had happened last night. Oof… But first there was something more important. 

“Eyeball drops!” she awkwardly flopped out of bed to get the medicine. Her muscles were still incredibly stiff but it wasn’t nearly as painful as the day before. Glancing at the clock, it was already noon, they’d slept for a full 12 hours. 

She climbed back onto the bed and hovered over Barley’s face. “You have to open your eyes,” she instructed. 

His expression soured for a second before relaxing into submission, his eyelids opening drearily. His skin still looked bad, but more on the healing end of the spectrum. His eyes looked about the same though. Kris pried one open as gently as she could and let the drop fall into it. He recoiled instantly. 

“Eh! Ow!”

“Other one…” she waited patiently. 

“This is a shitty way to wake up…” he said as he cautiously relaxed to let her do the other eye. He hissed when the medicine hit again.

“One more time,” she said bleakly and readied the second set of drops. 

These didn’t seem to sting as much, instead just being slightly uncomfortable for him. She noticed the film over his irises seemed to fade ever so slightly. 

“Are you still mad at me?” he asked softly after she’d finished and was screwing the cap back on. 

Kris sat back on her ankles and sighed. Last night had been such a cluster fuck on emotions for her, she didn’t really know how she felt at the moment.  
  
“I dunno, Barley… I was mad because you weren’t taking your own safety seriously…”

He relaxed back into the bed looking thoughtful. How could she explain this in a way that would make sense to him. 

“Like…” she ventured. “What if I had put myself into danger for you, and you didn’t need me to. What if I had tried to fight back those spiders or something? Grabbed your sword and told you to run?” 

“I wouldn’t have let you.”

“Exactly.”

“Oh…” 

“I couldn’t stop you back in the caverns, but if I’d had the power I would have.” 

That seemed to click for him, “I’m sorry…”

“You don’t have to be sorry, just don’t do it again.” She affirmed before bending down and kissing him. 

He met her eagerly but stopped after a few moments, pushing her hair up with his fingers. “And you’re okay?” his voice was tentative.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I’m okay.” 

“You’re positive?”

“Yeah.”

“100 percent?”

“Barley, where is this coming from?”

“You bottle things up, I don’t want you to get like you were that one time…” 

“What would I be bottling up?”

“I dunno, you’re still mad at me and don’t want to admit it?”

Kris frowned. Why was he being so incessant there was something wrong with her? “I’m not mad at you.”

“But there’s something else.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Last night, there was something else, you were babbling about triggers… or something.” He faltered. 

Kris felt a lump stick in her throat. She hadn’t thought about what her weird little brain episode would have looked like to Barley. She had kind of resolved it out in her own head, knowing exactly what happened and had filed it away as past tense. But of course Barley would be completely clueless. How was she going to explain this…

She sat back up and took up the ends of her hair, fiddling with them. “It’s hard to put into words…” she chewed her lip. Barley waited patiently. 

“I’ve told you about my dad.”

He nodded.

“So this thing… it really has nothing to do with you. Like, at all. It’s just a me thing. A baggage thing.” 

He nodded more slowly. 

She swallowed, this was hard to get out. “My dad, he would… every time he’d get mad at me or disappointed I guess, he’d lecture me and I’d just clam up. And every time he’d end it by saying he was doing it because he loved me…”

Barley looked unsure. 

“You said something kinda similar last night… and it’s not that what you said was wrong,” she said the last bit hastily. “It just reminded me of him and I was so tired and upset and my brain… broke.” 

“Broke?” 

“Ugh, I can’t explain it. It was like I was outside of my body and I couldn’t speak or really communicate at all. I was just stuck. I was stuck feeling like I was a teenager again and my dad had just made me feel so small and stupid and… this doesn’t make sense…” 

“I’m sorry I made you feel that way,” Barley said this with such remorse and guilt that Kris’s heart clenched.

“No! You didn’t do anything! You couldn’t have known, there’s no way. I’m just… fucked up.” 

“No, you’re not.” He stated firmly.

“I am.” Kris said just as vehemently back.

“No. You’re strong and beautiful and smart and loving and-”

“Fucked up.” 

“Kris, stop it.”

“No! You stop. I’m not going to pretend that I’m not something I very much am!”

“How can you say that?”

“Barley, I…” Kris trailed off. He didn’t understand these scars, which was a good thing, but it made it difficult to explain. 

“You are not fucked up.” He repeated.

“Barley, what do you think abuse does? Do you think it hurts in the moment and goes away once the abuser is gone? No! It stays! It’s not like a cut that heals, it’s a broken bone set improperly that flairs up when the weather is bad! Abuse doesn’t make you stronger, you don’t come out of it better for surviving it. It fucks you up! So yes, I _am_ strong and smart and loving, but I’m also fucked up a bit. That’s just how it is for me.” 

“I hate that.” 

Kris couldn’t help giving a dry laugh, “Me too.”

“Can I help?” His face was so open and honestly sympathetic.

Her heart wobbled in her chest, she wished he could. “No, not with this… You can be patient with me and you have been. That’s all I ask.” 

“Okay…” he seemed unpleased with this option, but he didn’t have much of a choice. 

She noticed a giant blob of the topical cream in his arm and blew out her nose in amusement. “I think we were a little too tired last night,” she said and swiped at the stuff with her finger. 

“I can’t remember ever being that tired. Even during an all night campaign.” 

Kris started applying the extra cream to Barley’s face gently, “Well, usually a Quests of Yore campaign doesn’t require you to hike like eights miles and run for your life.”

“Not for real anyway. I might want to keep my quests indoors for a while…”

“Your mother would probably appreciate that. And I know I would.” 

Barley caught her hand in his and he kissed the palm. He started trailing kisses down her wrist and up her arm. Kris felt herself begin to heat up to his touch. They were finally alone and not covered in grime. But her skin was also still tender. 

“Maybe not there,” she said pulling her arm away. He looked confused for a split second before remembering. 

“Oh, right…” 

“Honestly I feel like I’m too stiff and bruised to do much of anything,” she admitted. 

“What if I’m gentle?” Barley sat up and found her face with his hands before lightly running kisses over her jaw and the edges of her mouth. He moved down to her neck and she couldn’t say no, didn’t want to either. A soft sigh whispered out of her lips. 

“More of those sounds please,” he shuddered and pressed against her just enough to imply he wanted her laying down. His body followed hers closely as she went down. He ran his hands over her skin, careful to avoid her arms and the top of her chest where the spore scorch was. 

Kris reciprocated his touch, moving her fingers over his pecks and belly down to the dip of his hips. The line that ran between the flank pad muscle and iliac crest was honestly her favorite part on a man. She followed that line down to his cock and took hold. He was already hard. 

He’d sucked in a breath when her fingers found him, “you’re not going to play fair, are you?”

“What do you mean by play fair?” she asked dreamily, massaging his base with one hand and rubbing her fingers up and down his shaft with the other. 

“Your going to get me too hot before I can get you there…” he was implying that she should stop, but he wasn’t stopping her. In fact she could tell he was enjoying this quite a bit. 

“Well then, how about a compromise,” she teased and spread open her thighs. She tugged on him just enough to guide him down to her. 

“Should I get a condom?” he asked.

“No,” she said softly. “We don’t need one for this…” 

He was hesitant and perplexed for a second before she placed the length of his cock along her vulva. She kept one of her hands pressed up against the other side of his cock and pushed him down into her.  
  
“Rock against me,” she purred. She’d never felt his bare penis up against her before and the sensation was a whole new form of intimacy. 

He sank down into her and the warmth of his belly and chest on top of her made her feel safe and protected. When he started gently rocking up and down, arousal and pleasure bloomed in a sweetly satisfying way. Barley gulped and his breath caught. Her hand was still pressed against the back side of his shaft. He kissed her jaw on either side and started to pant. 

“Are you? Are you gonna be able to?” he breathed. 

“Oh yes, you’re right up against my clit,” she sighed. 

“I can’t… see you face very well. I want to hear you…” 

Kris made low giggle and bit her lip, then let out a gentle little moan. 

“Yes, that. More of that,” he started to rock a little bit faster. 

She brought her other arm up to hold onto his back. She couldn’t put pressure on her skin though, so she kept her hold gentle. She lifted her head and kissed his jaw, moving her lips up to his ear and letting out another small sigh. 

“Fuck, Kris… more please…”

She trailed the tip of her tongue along his ear and moaned. 

Barley groaned then, deep and shuddering. He moved his forearm underneath the curve of her spine, holding onto her waist. Kris laughed lightly and kissed his ear and neck. She was heating up now too, she began rocking her hips along with his.  
  
“Don’t stop making noise,” he pleaded. 

Her breathe was getting heavier now and she swallowed and made a whimpering sound. 

“Gods, I can feel how wet you are… I’ve never been able to feel how wet you get,” his voice was heated and strained. 

“I’m always this wet for you…” she whispered. 

A happy shakily laugh came from his chest, “My girl… my love… mine.”

“Yours,” she agreed and let out a little louder squeal and pressed up into him as she crested her first orgasm. 

“Huhhh, you just came didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she nodded and kissed him. He gave another contented moan and kissed her back, deeply and indulgent, making her head swim. 

She could feel his cock pulsing against her vulva and fingers. When Barley broke off the kiss, she groaned more deeply. A part of her wanted him inside of her now, but she didn’t want to interrupt this. It was too perfect and she didn’t want to give up the feeling of his bare skin up against hers. 

“Barley…” 

She could feel a shiver go through him at the sound of his name. “Say it again.”

“Barley… I love you.”

He exhaled and a deliriously happy smile grew on his face. Kris made louder gasp of pleasure as she came again. He grunted and she could tell he was trying not to come yet too. 

“You can come…” she whispered and flexed her fingers on him. 

His mouth hung open but he shook his head, “No… I don’t want to stop. I need to keep hearing you.”

“Mmmmm,” she wasn’t going to complain about that. She kissed his neck and shoulder decadently, taking her time. She flicked her tongue along the curve of his trapezius down to his collar bone. He shivered and swallowed at the sensation and she knew if she bit him now, he’d come. 

“Kris, I love you…” 

Now she was grinning stupidly and she lightly grazed her teeth against his skin. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever stop, I’ll love you forever.”

“Please do…” Kris breathed and felt herself start to come again. 

“Kris, I-” Barley started to say something but she moaned loudly and pushed up with her hips and down with her hand as she climaxed. This sent him over the edge and she felt his hot cum spread over her belly.  
  
He groaned low in his throat and panted heavily. Kris’s heart was fluttering, her whole body felt jittery. She couldn’t explain it, but that had been the most intimate thing they’d ever done, and she felt full of weirdly nervous energy. A good kind of nervous, giddy.

Barley panted a bit more before taking up her lips into his and kissing her long and slow. She let go of him and slowly pulled her hand out from between them and placed it against his side. He kept kissing her, sinking down more as his body relaxed. It didn’t seem like he wanted to move away any time soon and Kris was happy to oblige. The feel of his tongue and lips on hers calmed her down, pulled her back into the languid calm she’d felt when they’d started. 

_I’ll love you forever._

She wanted it to be true so badly. Could she have him forever? The hope pulled at her heart so sweetly and tortuously she almost felt like crying. The shadowy insecure cynic perched in her soul said no. People change, things change. Nobody stays in love forever. She could never have predicted that she’d end up in another dimension with a hot elf boyfriend, so how was she to predict anything else to happen in her life? All she could do for the time being was let him love her for as long as he wanted. She’d hold onto to him for as long as she possibly could. 

* * *

Barley had been about to say it. He’d almost told her he wanted to marry her. _Kris, I want you to marry me, please marry me. Be mine always…_

He was glad his body had saved him. He couldn’t ask her now, not this soon. There was too much to do first. She needed to get back home, see her family. He needed to move out, start figuring out what to do with the rest of his life now that he knew one thing for absolutely certain. And that was her. 

Last night was the first time he’d ever heard her get mad at him and he’d expected the usual reason. He’d been careless again, he hadn’t thought through his actions and that had ruined something for her. It was his fault. That’s what his brain had automatically assumed. 

Barley was so used to people getting frustrated with him. Teachers, friends, partners… His mother especially, and Ian had just barely begun to see him in a different light. Kris had been different from the get go. She was patient and kind and never expected him to change over night. She’d never made an exasperated sigh when he messed something up. She’d laugh or calmly explain the problem. It had felt too good to be true, so when he’d heard the anger in her voice he’d been prepared for the worst. This was it, this was the other shoe. But no. 

She was mad because he’d gotten hurt, because she cared about him. She wasn’t mad for her own sake, it had purely been about him. She didn’t care that she’d gotten hurt, she didn’t even seem to care that getting her home would take longer now. She just wanted him to be okay. Barley was so used to being the support beam it felt strange to have a person who wasn’t his family, hold him up just as strongly as he tried for others. 

The feeling set a fire inside him, he’d never felt before. He needed to get out of his mom’s house, he needed to know what direction he’d like to take in life. Living with Kris and his family was starting to feel cramped. Their household had gone from three to four to five in less than a year. Even if Kris and him hadn’t been together, he’d have started to feel constrained. She just added to the reasons why. 

Before the little house he’d pictured for them had been a pipe dream. Something sweet to day dream about but ultimately just that. Now he wanted it for real. He’d build it himself if he had to. He’d build it for her and their children, or maybe no children. Could they even have kids? He didn’t know what she wanted but, he didn’t really care as long as he could keep her. Dragons, she’d definitely want dragons. They could have a whole horde. 

As soon as she got to see her family again and her life got more settled in New Mushroomton, he’d start his plan. He’d start by looking up college courses. Barley had never even touched the brochures his mother loved to passively leave around for him to find. Maybe he’d find something that interested him, but if not he’d figure something else out. Then he’d start looking for apartments, take more shifts at the shop. Adele was always asking him to help out with organizing events, but he’d never really been interested before. Maybe he could help out with the festival stuff more. 

First things first he needed to work out that spell. 


End file.
